Drop case against IEBC voters register audit, Mutula tells CORD

Makueni County Senator Mutula Kilonzo Junior has advised the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) to withdraw a case it had lodged in the High Court challenging the award of IEBC voters’ register audit contract to KPMG audit firm.

Mutula Junior, who was speaking at Nzeveni village in Kilome constituency, Makueni County during the burial of Major Nicholas Mulinge, argued that the voters’ register needs to be audited as soon as possible to eliminate cases of double registration and confusion of ID numbers that have recently emerged.

The senator, who is a member of the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC), warned of a chaotic election if the register will not be thoroughly scrutinized in good time ahead of the General Election.

“I am asking the CORD coalition to find a method even if it is withdrawing the case that is in the court to so that we can find a method of auditing this register as soon as possible,” said Mutula.

Mutula further regretted the move by the Jubilee side of the political divide to amend the Electoral Act (2016) to allow the use manual voting and results transmission system arguing that the system can permit someone to vote on others’ behalf.

“This crisis would not be there if the country had agreed to use technology as a method of identifying persons and as a method of registering persons,” added Mutula.

CORD leader Raila Odinga came out to complain that his national identity card number has been registered to someone else in the voters register.

Raila’s sentiments came shortly after his CORD co-principal and Wiper Democratic Movement Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka complained of a similar predicament.

“Twice this week, I Rt Hon Raila Odinga established that I shared my Identity Card number, 4838593, with one Ms Ombai Maria Anyango who had been registered using the same card in the same polling station where I vote,” read part of a statement from CORD leader, Raila Odinga, protesting the mess.

Senator Mutula said that cases of double registration especially in his Makueni County are very rampant than previously thought.

“The cases that we have had in Makueni alone on persons who are holding double identities of people’s identity cards is something that should concern us immensely,” said Senator Mutula.

The Makueni County senator further lamented a decision by the government to drop a move suggested by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich to integrated the registration of persons system and the IEBC’s registration of persons system.

Senator Mutula’s sentiments were echoed by former Information and Communication Minister Samuel Poghisio, who was speaking in West Pokot County during the burial County Senator John Lonyang’apuo’s brother.

Poghisio urged the new IEBC commission led by chair Wafula Chebukati to expedite the process of auditing the voters’ register ahead of the August polls.

(Story reported by Enock Muswii)