Kivuitu: I did not approve hurried swearing-in

By Beauttah Omanga

ECK chairman Samuel Kivuitu told the Kriegler commission he was rushed to State House to give presidential victory to Mwai Kibaki.

Kivuitu said he was shocked when he arrived at State House to find the stage set for the swearing-in minutes after he announced the results.

Kivuitu said as he walked out of the room where he announced the results, a team of army officers surrounded him.

Electoral Commission of Kenya Chairman Samuel Kivuitu, testifies at the Kriegler Commission at KICC on Monday. PICTURE: EVANS HABIL

“I found there was an armoured vehicle ready for me but declined and insisted on using my official car,” he said.

He told the commission he was escorted by several cars to State House.

ODM lawyer Tom Kajwang took Kivuitu to task to explain the speedy sequence of events between the time he announced the results and the swearing-in.

He said alterations in some constituencies as detected through an audit would have affected some candidates. “In a closely contested elections, slight errors would have changed the results,” he said.

Kivuitu said he announced the results from a different room from the tallying and press centre because of the tension that gripped the venue.

“I had no choice but to announce the results from a place I felt secure,” said the chairman.

He said he did not approve the hurried swearing in of Kibaki.

He said there was massive rigging in areas where results of more than 95 percent turnout were recorded for presidential candidates.

Discovered alterations

Earlier, Kivuitu said they detected discrepancies in results announced at various constituencies during last year’s General Election.

He admitted that an audit carried detected errors.

Responding to questions by the Independent Review Commission lead counsel Yohana Masara, Kivuitu said he was not sure if the alterations would have any impact on the results.

Masara: Have you as a commission carried out any audit of the last General Elections and if so what are your findings?

Kivuitu: An audit has been conducted. The audit has discovered several discrepancies in many constituencies.

Masara:Can you tell the commission how many constituencies are affected?

Kivuitu:The problems seem wide spread It covers almost all parts of the country.

Kivuitu, who was the first witness ,however said he would not give details of the findings.

Attempts by the ECK lawyer to stop production of the document, which Kivuitu referred to from the witness box, were rejected by Kriegler who insisted that it be produced.

But Justice Kriegler demanded that since Kivuitu had quoted a document in his submissions, the Commission had a right to have it as exhibit.