2017: Claims of Elections Rigging Should Be Thoroughly Investigated

Claims are claims. Accusations are just accusations. Vendetta remains that. But all these if repeated several times, however the lack of truth in them, can easily be interpreted as truth. Just like the old adage that a lie repeated time and time again would appear like truth. Or, more or less it would mutate to a truth. 

Claims have been made about planned rigging of the next polls by the opposition and rejected in the same breath by government diehards.

Anyone who was around one or two years before the bloody 2007/8 post-election violence would remember that claims of rigging were rampantly made and rebuffed in equal measure.

Most of us remember what happened on ’07 Election Day and the bloodletting that followed. And the pleading, international beseeching to let go of the brewing anger and the wielding of pangas. And the ensuing graves.

I would want to think that none of us would want to go through the heart-wrenching experience once again.

So comes the plea that the claims should be exhaustively investigated so as to make the next polls fool proof otherwise we might be setting ourselves up for another unfamiliar ground after the next polls. 

Ahead of the 2007 polls, the political environment was super-charged. One claim was being made after another. And the government of the day seemed not to have done enough to dissuade the whole country of the rigging fears because they remained sustained until the polls’ day. 

Those fears seemed to have been stoked by an underperforming, inefficient electoral body that really did little, or nothing, to build the trust in the polling structure.

The present body, IEBC, has begun rebuilding after almost sinking in the last polls following an uncertain performance in 2013.  

It would be unfortunate, rather unforgivable, if the body does not work on the ebbing trust a section of Kenyans have on it at the moment. Failing to do so now, would almost certainly mean this section would reject whatever outcome in the polls next year, rigged or not. 

It was the same script ahead of 2007 polls. Government diehards vehemently rejected rigging claims and accused those making them of being jittery and suspecting defeat in advance.

The same is happening now. 

The government should investigate the claims instead of dismissing them. In fact, there should be a public inquiry to find out if there is any truth in these.

Without that, the claims will be repeated, repeated and repeated and before you know it everyone would believe the government would rig the next presidential election.