Somalilandsun- The leader of opposition politics in Kenya, Raila Odinga has accused the current government of Uhuru Kenyatta to be importing voters from Ethiopia and Uganda to rig elections against the opposition in the august 2017 general elections. Odinga has confirmed this by asserting that the government of Uhuru Kenyatta is now using the Biometric voter registration (BVR) machines to register Ugandans and Ethiopians as voters that will vote in support of the incumbent government come august this year. The new Electoral Chiefs; messers Wafula Chebukati and Ezra Chiloba, who are in charge of the Independent electoral and boundaries commission (IEBC) an electoral body in Kenya have so far not made any official statement in regard to this electoral irregularity.
This move by the government is a panicky response to the expected defeat, given the tribal and ethnic political reality in Kenya that, the forty one communities nowsupporting opposition politics are thirty five million people against the two communities of kalenjin and Gikuyuforming the current government,that are only lessthan fifteen million people . The government has also been disillusioned into this direction after witnessing regular hostility and riotous heckling by the youths against the current deputy president Mr. William Ruto during his recent meet-the–people tours across the country.
Initially, the current government has been accused by Onyango Oloo, a politician formerly in the ruling government, for having rigged the 2013 elections by using the names and voter identifications of the dead persons from central province and rift valley provinces,the homeareas of the president and his deputy respectively, Oloo also accuses the current government for having probed the voter register in the opposition areas with the primary aim of monkey-wrenching voter eligibility in this areas.
The tradition of importing voters in Kenya began with the former Tyrannical ruler, Daniel Moiwho used to induce Somali nationals into registering as Kenyans in exchange of their votes for the incumbent government. Moi took the advantage of political instability and violence in Somalia to perfect this practice.Simialarly, Uhuru Kenyatta is taking the advantage of economic and political hardships in Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia to register nationals of these countries as voters in his support.
Technicalities of electoral democracy require that there must be fair political competition through genuine elections in order to achieve democracy and fair representation. This spirit of democracy is also supported by the Kenya constitution which upholds the democratic philosophy of one-man-one-vote as well as fair and free elections. Experts on Kenya politics like Wenani Kilongi at school Of Political science, MoiUniversity have commented that the current government of Uhuru Kenyatta is panicking and struggling to remain in power because there is fear that any other government coming in will try to correct the crimes of mega-corruptions and lootings that have been committed by state officers in the current government.
These actions by the government to swindle voters into Kenya from the neighbouring countries have been condemned strongly by several people in Kenya. Raila Odinga has at the same time cautioned the National Intelligence service (NIS)officers to decline from being used in the immoral activities like illegal voter registration but instead uphold the dignity and health of Kenya as their country, because if Kenya can break down they will have no where to work.
By; Alexander Opicho
From, Lodwar, Kenya
