Today's Headlines
- Two Exhibitions Are On At Ramoma, Nairobi
- Country to Review Tourism Law
- Econet Wireless Finally Rolls Out
- Odinga Warns of Civil Unrest
- Mulee Rules Out Harambee Stars U-Turn
- Taking Up a Women's Agenda
- More Than 6,000 Christian Youth Converge for Prayers
- Catholic Church Outraged By MPs' Refusal to Pay Tax
- Pope Benedict Praying for Release of Abducted Nuns
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- Malaria Rates Plummet Among Children
- Winning Against HIV Stigma Behind Bars
- First Congress of Federation of African Journalists a Historic Milestone, Says IFJ
- Archbishop Lele Urges State to Act as Food Crisis Bites
- Regional Workshop Focus Border Management, Irregular Migration
- Silverbird Acquires Kenya's Nu Metro, Starts Operations in Ghana
- Raila is Evil, Says Minister
- Man Charged With Abduction of Two Catholic Sisters
- UN Censures State On Torture
- Agencies Seek $390 Million to Offset Climate And Food Risks
- UN-Backed Scheme Gives 3,000 Prisoners Clean Water and Sanitation
- Samosa Festival is On in Nairobi
- Heartstrings in Another Comedy
- Govts, Investors Engage RVR in Rail Bid
- Mwangi Replaces Mwebesa At NSE
- Riepa Hosts Business Association
- ICTR Petitions UN for Arrest of Kabuga
- UBA to Invest SH360 Billion in Kenya
- Free Movement of People Too, Not Just Goods and Capital
- Judges Running Out of Money?
The Nation (Nairobi)
August 29, 2008
News Article By Sam Kiplagat
The returning officer from Molo Constituency insisted on Wednesday that he did not breach guidelines by announcing incomplete results during the 2007 General Election.
Appearing before the Kriegler Commission, Mr Laban Arupe Korelach also said that he enlisted party agents and candidates to help tally the results from the constituency.
The officer said that although he did not face any personal security threats, "there was a lot of pressure" to release the tallies from hundreds of party agents, supporters and candidates who had crowded into the tally centre.
"People wanted all the results instantly... They were shouting that they could not wait," Mr Korelach said.
But he denied suggestions from the Independent Review Commission's vice chairperson Imani Aboud Daud that he violated the Electoral Commission of Kenya's regulations by releasing partial figures, which she said caused confusion among election observers and the public.
The incomplete results released by Mr Korelach initially showed that President Mwai Kibaki of PNU had garnered 50,145 votes while Raila Odinga (ODM) got 19,195 and ODM-K's Kalonzo Musyoka got 220.
The officer later released numbers showing that President Kibaki had garnered 74,675 votes, Mr Odinga had 21,645 and Mr Musyoka 222.
Mr Korelach said that when the deputy returning officers and three assisting clerks abandoned him because of mounting tension at the tallying hall in Njoro, he recruited political candidates and some of their agents to help him.
This admission drew a sharp response from some members of the Kriegler team.
At Wednesday's session, it also emerged that a man claiming to be Mr Korelach tried to mislead Kenyans on December 30 last year, a day after the elections.
The imposter told politicians before the glare of cameras that he was in charge of Molo and that results released had been biased in favour of President Kibaki.
Mr Korelach said the incident happened as he was queuing at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre to present the results to the national tallying officials. The witness said that to this day, he does not know the identity of the imposter.
