Nairobi — Chief of Staff in the Office of Deputy President Davis Chirchir has dismissed John Githongo's allegation that put him, alongside Dennis Itumbi, at the centre of an alleged plot to rig the elections.
Responding to a petition filed by whistleblower John Githongo at the Supreme Court, Chirchir denied knowing and supervising 56 hackers to infiltrate the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) system.
He noted that he only knows blogger Dennis Itumbi, who he has had interactions with over the years, adding that their roles in helping William Ruto clinch the presidency had nothing to do with the IEBC system.
Githongo's affidavit listed Chirchir, Itumbi, Kibyegon, Morris Mutegi, Baby Serge and Jackson Kandi as part of the team that infiltrated the IEBC system and tampered with presidential results.
"I do not know any of these listed individuals other than Dennis Itumbi, who I have had interactions with over the years. He and I did not work together in any capacity in relation to the presidential campaign either pre-election, on election date and/or during the tallying process," he stated.
Chirchir went ahead to explain how his car was blocked by a white Land Cruiser, with several plain clothes police officers, and two Subaru Outback saloon cars.
He said the incident occured on August 11, 2022 , when he was leaving the national tallying center at Bomas.
"I was ordered to alight, and my phone and laptop were forcibly taken and held for over 30 minutes by rogue officers. They also detained the car behind me, which was being used by Wanjohi Githae, the Director of Communications for the UDA party," he stated.
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Chirchir said that there was no justification given for the detention, and that he reported the matter at the Langata Police Station after he was released.
Githongo in his affidavit has alleged that a team of ten supervisors and 46 other individuals was tasked with accessing, entering and manipulating the data in the IEBC portal.
He said that the team was under instructions to maintain the total valid votes cast and hence deduct votes from one presidential contender and add to the other.
"Their task was to receive the Forms 34A from the KIEMS Kits which were sent to their server/platform which he termed as Uchaguzi Tallying. After receiving the said data, they would edit the necessary Forms 34A according to the instructions given to them by their leaders and thereafter upload the said edited Form 34A's to the IEBC portal.
"The team was indoctrinated on the phrase "freedom is coming" and that they needed to be freed from dynasties; in this case the Petitioner," read the affidavit in part.
