Jubilee wants Orengo, Mudavadi charged over ICT hack claims

James Orengo(left) with Musalia Mudavadi(right) at the Bomas of Kenya speaking to journalists on 11th August 2017. PHOTO:WILBERFORCE OKWIRI

Jubilee Party wants National Super Alliance (NASA) leaders Musalia Mudavadi and James Orengo investigated and charged if there is evidence that they unlawfully accessed IEBC servers. 

The ruling party wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions, claiming that the duo wrote to Independent Electral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati insinuating they had obtained election results from the servers.

Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju, in the letter, says the hacking claims by the Opposition is either the truth or was false propaganda meant to taint the election process.

PRESS CONFERENCES

“NASA leaders have subsequently held numerous press conferences at which they claim to be holding data and information from IEBC’s IT system, which could only be accessed unlawfully or which is false information deliberately disseminated to undermine the electoral process,” Tuju said.

NASA held a press briefing and claimed that it had "legitimate results" from an IEBC database, which suggested that Raila had won the August 8 election.

According to the Opposition, the former Prime Minister had polled a total of 8.1 million votes against President Kenyatta's 7.2 million.

They also said the results they obtained from the servers indicated an 18,362,556 voter turnout, allegedly 73.8 per cent of the total number of registered voters. But upon tabulation, the turnout rose by 20 per cent.

Jubilee now says the revelations by NASA are a breach of both the Elections Act and the IEBC Act, which prohibit individuals from using, accessing, obtaining or transferring information from the system.

IRREGULARLY ACCESSED

“We request your good office to expeditiously direct comprehensive investigation and prosecution if your investigations uncover sufficient evidence against Hon Mudavadi and senior counsel James Orengo and any other person who had unauthorised access to the IEBC servers,” reads Tuju's letter sent to the DPP.

The Supreme Court judgement delivered on Thursday ruled that it could not find any person within the IEBC who irregularly accessed the system.

“We are therefore unable to impute any criminal intent or culpability on either the first and second respondent (IEBC and Chebukati), or any other commissioner or member of the first respondent. We are similarly unable to find any evidence of misconduct on the part of the third respondent. The prayer is disallowed,” the judges ruled.

CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE

In the letter, Jubilee disagrees with NASA, which has given Mr Tobiko 72 hours to press charges against IEBC officials, saying that from the judgment, there is no need for a probe as no one was found culpable. 

The Opposition said it believed that Chebukati, CEO Ezra Chiloba, ICT Director James Muhati, legal team boss Praxedes Tororey who has since resigned, Betty Nyabuto, Immaculate Kassait, Moses Kipkogei, Marjan Marjan, Abdi Guliye and Molu Boya were criminally responsible for the annulled presidential election.

“Our express instructions are that the commissioners and members of the secretariat not only committed criminal acts of which they should be held personally responsible, but also aided and abetted the commission of offences under the Elections Offences Act, the Public Procurement Act, the Elections Act and breaches of the Constitution," said NASA.

But Jubilee has a contrary opinion: “Upon reading and analysing the above, it is clear that no criminal investigations are warranted against the IEBC commissioners or officials.”