ELECTION OF CHEATERS WILL NOT STAND IN KENYA

Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:06:48 -0500

I am offering a warning to all political parties in this election that cheating will not stand. The voters are far smarter than the political candidates give them credit for. On Monday Mr. Odinga claimed that the government was planning to use the Administration Police (AP) force to help PNU rig various polling stations throughout the country in the upcoming election (See Nationmedia.com, Tuesday 12/25/07 for the full details of Mr. Odinga's claims). These claims were vehemently denied by Mr. Gituku Ngari (Kibaki Tena Press Secretary) and Mr. Masoud Mwinyi (spokesman for AP). On the eve of the general election, Mr. Odinga's claims have been now been confirmed by the Kenyan national newspaper /The Standard/ (See /The Standard/, Wed. 12/26-07, "Mysterious Police trips poll rigging claims"). It is a shameful, serious criminal act that Kibaki's administration and PNU have resorted to in order to try to win this election through fraud.

When did the AP become the private property of the administration in this country?. Should ODM and ODM-Kenya hire a wing of Kenya Security Services to support them in this election? I don't believe that /all/ AP personnel in Kenya are supporters of the PNU party. People like Mr. Masood Mwinyi and Mr. Kinuthia Mbugua (AP Commandants) claim that the “AP personnel in this scheme are being deployed throughout the country in a supporting role” and “these rigging allegations are merely propaganda” by Mr. Odinga and other parties. So the burden of proof should now rest with the government to show the public that these APs are not being used to rig the election. If these AP personnel are on official duty, let them wear uniforms at the polling station so they can be identified and can help people if there is problem. The lack of transparency regarding how AP personnel are being used at polling stations is nothing but a sinister scheme to allow voting fraud. The public should be fully informed as to how the AP selection process will be used to rig this election. Are the Luo APs being sent to Kikuyu areas? Are Kikuyu APs being sent to Luo areas? Are Wakammba APs being sent to the Rift Valley to rig the election there? How about the APs without a tribal presidential candidate in this election? What are they supposed to do? The public is sick of denials and non-denials by the government and PNU political operatives. The days of a Unitary government of the Kanu party are gone. The public now has camera phones, video cameras, Internet access YouTube to help them discover and publicize corrupt voting practices of the government and the PNU party.

The public is calling on Mr. Kivutu (ECK) to do his job and NOT be a cheerleader for the administration and the PNU. Mr. Kivutu you are truly independent in this election. Please, don't just speak out but take action against people violating Kenya’s election laws. Don't tell the public that you have “no role in appointing polling agents” and that you are only required by law to “receive the letters presented by the agents three days before the election”. All this tells us is that you do not care if the sources of these signatures or their sponsors (in this case the administration) are using APs to affect the election. Mr. Kivutu, you further state that APs can sneak into the polling stations and “act like civilians". I ask you Mr. Kivutu, which polling stations in the country are going to allow civilians to stuff the ballot boxes with votes for any party? Quoting your own words Mr. Kivutu “These are heinous crimes. Such schemes are utterly undemocratic and retrogressive... Sadly, this will return the people to slavery they freed themselves in 1991.” If you mean these words, you MUST do something about the misuse of the AP by the administration and the PNU /now/ and not after the election. It is silly for you to tell the public that the AG will be called to deal with cheaters like AP agents and the administration when the AG is on the administration’s payroll.

Mr. Kivutu Sir, you have exonerated Mr Kibaki in this scheme by saying “It may be impossible to associate that candidate (Kibaki) with such schemes going by his past record”. What records are you talking about? You also said “However, his overzealous campaign leaders can be tempted to abuse State power and authority to his advantage without his personal involvement”. Mr. Kivutu, sir, please read the AP vote rigging scheme written by The Standard. You must do something about these “overzealous campaign leaders” as you describe them. Use the power of your office as endowed to you by law to put a stop to the fraud about to take place in this election. Mr. Kivutu, the public is asking you to be proactive in fighting corruption. We think a man of your caliber is above carrying the water for the administration or PNU party. Think about your legacy in Kenya politics. Will you be remembered as the ECK chairman who allowed State resources to be used in election because nobody told you? " To say that the ECK has not received /any/ evidence that voting fraud was being planned is nothing but burying you head in the sand. Even if you are right that the law ties your hands, Kenyan history will judge you harshly for your inaction in this election.

Supporters of PNU are free to claim that Mr. Odinga is delusional and daydreaming to claim that there is a scheme to rig this election. To the likes of Muthui Kariaku in Standard article " Rahila doing what he knows best: Daydreaming" I say to you Sir, even the devil can quote the bible to his convenience. If you think that all claims by Mr. Odinga are based on daydreaming and wild allegations against President Kibaki, please check out the Arturs brother case and the vote-rigging story in The Standard. The public cannot help you or take you seriously because you refuse to view these schemes by the government and PNU objectively. Who are you tell the public that Mr. Odinga had the audacity to write Mr. Kivutu at ECK to check out the allegations of this AP scheme? I say to you Mr. Kariaku you are the one who is delusional when it come to politics in Kenya. If everything Mr. Odinga says is propaganda how come /The Standard/ is confirming the AP scheme? Maybe /The Standard/ is a Luo or ODM newspaper. If you have a chance to talk to Mr. Kivutu you’ll find out that yes, the allegations of this AP scheme are true, except Mr. Kibaki “does not know” that his overzealous campaign leaders are using APs on his behalf. If you were objective, I would have asked you to extend a sincere apology to Mr. Odinga for accusing him of daydreaming, but your partisan politics and tribal loyalty would not allow you to do this. Maybe Kenyans in your neck of the woods know that both ODM and ODM-Kenya are “spreading propaganda” in the country. Kibaki and PNU are certainly counting on a landslide in tomorrow's election. If you are counting on the AP to deliver this election to you, you may need to hatch another scheme Sir. The cat is out of the bag on this one. ODM and other parties you are dismissing in this election will be proactive at the polling stations in order to stop Kibaki and the PNU from stealing the election. Based on your career of public relations work, I know that you are just telling the Kibaki administration and PNU what they want to hear. I don't have a dog in this fight. I will move on with my life and career after this election regardless of who wins. In politics there are no permanent enemies and allies. The outsiders can be the insiders after this election, so all I can say is be ready for change! I urge the public to come out and vote for the candidate of their choice. When people vote, Kenya’s democracy wins regardless of tribal loyalty and fake political parties.

Dan Magero Orao
Michigan, USA