Kivuitu feared Kibaki wanted ally at ECK helm

By David Ochami and Cyrus Ombati

Chairman of the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), Samuel Kivuitu, and several politicians were concerned by what they believed was an attempt by President Kibaki to replace him with his (Kibaki) former lawyer, Muturi Kigano.

They were also concerned that there was the intention to unilaterally impose new commissioners ahead of the 2007 General Election.

This is according to leaked cables from the US embassy in Nairobi.

The secret letter sent to the US Department in Washington DC describes the new commissioners as "the riggers" selected by the President in "a closed-door" manner.

It also quotes Kivuitu expressing fears of a poll boycott on grounds the new commission was considered compromised.

And according to the cables sent to Washington on May 25, 2007, then opposition presidential hopefuls, Raila Odinga, Uhuru Kenyatta and Kalonzo Musyoka, thought then Justice Minister Martha Karua, was a key obstacle to reforms.

The three were concerned about the credibility of the impending polls following Kibaki’s unilateral appointment of nine commissioners to ECK and naming of Kigano — the latter described in the cables as "a former Kibaki lawyer".

The US embassy was also concerned about Kivuitu’s term, which was to end on December 2, 2007, describing his unclear fate a "key issue in the electoral debate" at that time.

Kigano’s selection

Kivuitu himself told Ambassador Johnny Carson he suspected Kigano was about to replace him but that two ministers were now "arguing over Kigano’s selection" with Kalonzo complaining that the Kibaki administration "wants to push Kivuitu out".

According to the cables leaked by whistleblower WikiLeaks, Attorney General Amos Wako suggested that certain people were "whispering" into Kibaki’s ear over this matter, but he was confident the President would do the right thing.

Meanwhile, the cables also quote Raila, Uhuru and Kalonzo castigating Karua’s commitment to reform.

"Odinga emphasised that the key constitutional reform needed in Kenya was devolution of power from the Executive and from the centre more generally. He remarked, however, that there was little likelihood of the reforms passing before the election with Karua working to derail the process," say the cables.

In the end, President Kibaki reappointed Kivuitu to oversee the General Election of 2007.

The election was later disputed with Kibaki’s Party of National Unity and Raila’s Orange Democratic Movement, accusing each other of rigging the presidential vote.

Kivuitu announced Kibaki winner but later said he did not know for sure whether he won.

Kalonzo and Uhuru joined Kibaki’s side of Government.