President William Ruto alleged there was a plot to abduct and kill the former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati during the August 2022 general election.

Ruto claimed the then-highest office orchestrated the plot, which entailed putting its preferred commissioners in place to paralyse IEBC operations before installing a presidential candidate that was not elected by the people.

The president was speaking on Tuesday during a meeting with fifteen commissioners and independent offices at the State House, Nairobi.

Ruto also alleged there were threats issued to the commissioners and promises of lucrative rewards if they swayed the election results in favour of a candidate that he did not mention their name.


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“We know that there was a direct attempt to abduct Mr Chebukati and murder him so that he commission would be paralysed, or a compliant commissioner take over and subvert the people’s sovereignty. It was a hard, cold and lonely time, the threats were dire, the promised rewards lavish and the pressure relentless,” Ruto said.

“We now know that Chairman Wafula Chebukati, Commissioners Abdi Yakub Guliye and Boya Molu as well as the CEO, Hussein Marjan, and their staff, were offered stupendous financial rewards to cooperate with the agents of impunity, but they bravely resisted.”

The former deputy president also said the powers that were hell-bent on influencing the outcome of the election results even through the use of commissioners whose roles were to derail the election process and force a leader on Kenyans.

“This mechanism resolved to infiltrate the organisation by introducing at its highest level four sleeper commissioners whose sole task was to lie in wait for the election, then spring into action and take drastic actions to subvert the will of the people,” the president said.


Ruto also hinted the emergence of the four dissenting commissioners was part of the plot to subvert the people’s wishes and that put the country’s democracy to test.

“The horrifying drama at Bomas and the emergence of break-away commissioners answering to external instructions represented a dismayingly low point in our democratic history. A policy to subvert the wishes of the people had been sanctioned at the highest offices of the state. The sovereignty of the people was in jeopardy,” the president said.

He lauded Chebukati, Guliye, Moly and Marjan for upholding, protecting and defending the constitutions and for being steadfast in advancing their constitutional mandates.

“It takes a person who can stare death in the face, and nevertheless pursue the right course of action, to uphold, protect and defend our constitutional values and principles, and to enhance the legitimacy of our institutions. The IEBC had three such people,” Ruto said.


“If on the other hand, the commissions and independent offices are steadfast in advancing their constitutional mandates, Kenya’s institutions will receive the necessary impetus towards realising the people’s aspirations by protecting rights, enhancing freedom, deepening democracy and unlocking sustainable development.”

This comes as Chebukati’s six-year tenure at the electoral body has come to a close.