A PARTISAN REFEREE , ROGUE ELECTIONS ; DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS.

The electoral Commission IEBC oversaw the general elections on 9th August. In that Tuesday , Kenyans went to the ballot to elect their political leaders who , will transact the affairs of the government and State on their behave. By voting for them , they will enter into a social contract with them with will last for a period of 5 years. That's when , wanjiku will come knocking using emotions and feelings rather than looking whether , the leader she voted for has performed to her expectations. There are those who will spend 5 years and do absolutely nothing. This group will spend those years dealing with handouts. They must ensure they are well oiled financially. By doing that , they will only need to whip the emotions of the voters by aligning with the political climate that will be commanding. There is another group of political leaders , even after working for their electorates, they will be placed by the voter in the chopping board and will not survive. They will be sent into political oblivion.

As we speak , their is a mother of all Court battles that is in the offing in the Supreme Court. IEBC , Azimio la Umoja and Kenya Kwanza Alliance , for 2 weeks , they will be going after each other jagular in the presence of the seven judge bench at Milimani law courts where , this time round , the apex court will be sitting. President elect William Ruto counsels will be defending his victory. IEBC counsels will be convincing the bench that it conducted the presidential election in accordance to the law. The Azimio la Umoja , will be proofing that , both IEBC and Kenya Kwanza Alliance engaged in a sham and fraudulent electoral process. So far , their battery of counsels have already lodged their evidence in bulk and are just flexing their muscles before the whistle is blown for the legal battle to start. Mr Wafula Chebukati , the chairman of the electoral Commission is a man under siege. In 2017 , he captained a commission which was divided. Some even fled the Country without giving any notice. The CEO, Ezra Chiloba was suspended. A section of the remaining members accused their chairman of totalitarianism and dictatorial kind of leadership. They just maintained their cool before they tabled their resignation letters.

This time round , four of the 7 commissioners have expressed dissatisfaction with the same chairman. Same allegations that the commissioners of 2017 raised have replicated themselves again. Now , how can you defend this person again. What is making him find himself in this situation is because , already , he has taken sides. However much he is trying to hide it , the pregnancy is pronouncing ITSELF loudly and clearly for everyone to see. A partisan chairman of an election commission which is mandated to conduct a free , fair and transparent election is not only a threat to the Democratic gains this country has set but also , a threat to the national security and cohesiveness of the Nation. Kenya is a multi ethnic Nation and politics and elections in this Country is a very emotive thing. The good thing is , as we speak , the cloud of peace and tranquility has blanketed the whole Kenya. Even in some parts of the country where political violence was mapped to happen are haven of peace and calmness. All eyes are in the Supreme Court. If the kind of things , especially malpractices that are being unearthed during this year's presidential election are true , then , we don't have an electoral Commission. Some of its commissioners should be charged with criminal offences. They took an oath to work diligently and also obey the laws of the land but in return , they have conspired to gang rape the very laws they should be following.

Back in 2007 , the defunct ECK burned this Country. Yes!!! We can't photoshop our Country's history. When the late chairman Samuel Kivuitu was asked who win this election , he said he doesn't know yet , after some minutes , he resurfaced in State House. The late President Mwai Kibaki was sworn in in darkness. It is after that activity , the Country burned and Kenyans turned against one another. The genocidal acts were witnessed in this Country in a scale that even attracted the attention of the international community. All because , the referee was partisan. If there was no presidential candidate who won , what did the law by then said when the commission find itself in such a situation? The good thing to be celebrated as we speak is , the Country is peaceful. This alone is showing the democratic maturity Kenya has attained. The Azimio la Umoja , has maintained it will the legal route to seek justice. We must have trust with the institutions our constitution puts in place.  There are those who believe that , Azimio , being backed by a sitting President , would have used the State machinery to trample on the activities of an independent electoral Commission. Those are merchants of violence and anarchy.

What has attracted my attention is a battery of counsels IEBC has presented to argue its case at the Supreme Court. The question is , if Chebukati and the commissioners loyal to him or simply put , fellow partners in crime fully knows that , they conducted a free , fair and credible presidential election , why bring almost 15 lawyers to represent them in the Court? Two or three lawyers are enough and they will not need to labour too much to argue their case by proofing to the Supreme Court bench , that indeed , the commission adhered itself with the 2017 Supreme Court ruling. But the number of counsels IEBC is planning to dispatch in the Supreme Court represent the guilt they have. It is all over the commission anatomy. How can explain to my neighbor using this map that , the yellow won and it is the blue challenging its victory in a court of law? How and where will I start? This is a very intricate scenerio but very soon , things will come out in the surface. A referee taking sides , even you can be a team with good players , you will lose to your opponents however much weak and emaciated they may be, chances of losing can be nigh.

Prior to the general elections , various stakeholders and multi sectoral agencies held a consortium on election preparedness. In that meeting , judiciary , the interior ministry , the civil societies etc. IEBC was invited being a key stakeholder in conducting general elections. Chebukati wanted to chicken out from that meeting by citing flimsy reasons though , by the end of the day , he turned up. What was he hiding from? As if that not enough , weeks to the general elections , Azimio la Umoja was asking very pertinent questions to the IEBC. Instead of Chebukati responding , the person who was furnishing Azimio la Umoja with answers is Kenya Kwanza Alliance presidential candidate William Ruto. The question is , how did he mutate from being a presidential candidate to become IEBC spokesperson? Were questions being directed to him? What was he fearing when Azimio was asking this questions? I realized something fishy when Ruto started defending IEBC when questions on electio preparedness were being posed to that commission. That's alone was a tip of the iceberg. I understand many quarters aren't comfortable with this questions and instead of providing questions, they become emotional and bitter.

The train has already left the station and if you haven't boarded , I wonder what are you waiting for? This year's presidential petition at the Supreme Court will make that of 2017 look like a child play. If the commission will be found guilty and the Court decides to nullify Ruto's victory and call for a re-run , how can Chebukati , someone who has exposed his partisanship to conduct that election again? They say, a hunter who returns home with a goat is a thief. He can eat that goat but cannot prevent the smell of that meat from reaching into the house of the owner of the goat. It is sad that , an independent commission can circumvent a fair electoral process inorder to hold brief for political class. He is already partisan and that has left with an egg on his face. Kenyans are calling upon for Supreme Court to deliver justice to Kenyans and then Kenya. If Chebukati will be found guilty of bangling election laws as stipulated in the IEBC act , elections regulations act and Elections act , he should be held personally responsible. He should be delinked from the commission and carry his cross alone. All eyes are traded on the 7 judge bench. They are now the custodian of Justice, let them do the way 2017 did , an election is a PROCESS and not an EVENT. It is that simple.