Dishonest And/Or Misleading CNN Headlines and Shoddy Reporting About Elections in Kenya

CNN Interview with John Kerry, Co-Chair of Carter Center Observer Group

This is why people hate and others simply don’t trust the media; what the CNN headline in the link above is blurting out is not what the former US Secretary said as co-Chair of the kCenter for Democracy observer group in Kenya monitoring the elections which were held there on Tusday.

Worse, the headline is contradicted by the video clip in the story in which Kerry said the elections were free and peaceful and that IEBC, the body charged with the responsibility to conduct elections in Kenya, did a good job, which is true and we’re here talking about the mechanics and logistics of conducting elections such as making sure polling stations are opened in time, there are sufficient ballots in each location, people are orderly in line, etc.

However; nowhere in that clip or elsewhere has Kerry said the elections were not rigged!

Neither does Kerry address anything in substance about what Raila said, including his claim the IEBC system was rigged–obviously contrary to what the headline blurts.

From what I can tell, either a very careless and shoddy reporter filed this report or a dishonest reporter did question is, neither of which is good for an organization such as CNN, question is why the dishonesty?

If it’s not dishonesty, then its inexcusable shoddiness that has caused anxiety and sent rumor mongers on overdrive peddling lies that Kerry said there’s no rigging and some even gone further to peddle the lie that Kerry has endorsed Uhuru, something he couldn’t do and cannot do regardless before the results are officially announced on then only if the entire observation team from the US agrees with the endorsement if Uhuru wins but will do exactly the same thing if Raila wins.

Instead, what he said is what we all know and have been saying and that is, even though the voting was peaceful and credible, it now remains to be seen whether the counting, tallying and announcement of the presidential election is equally credible.

The diplomat he is, Kerry also said the same thing one had to expect him to say and that is, if there’s evidence of rigging, including evidence the results announced don’t reflect votes legitimately cast, counted and reported from each polling station, let the aggrieved (he did not mention Raila by name) go to Court and present the evidence.

That’s a far cry from what the headline screams CNN must be called out for this misleading and shoddy reporting.

I have copied their Newsroom this post I encourage you to do the same thing or let them know in your own words.

Bottom line is, we won’t know anything about the outcome of this election and which direction things go until two things happen: (1) IEBC announces the presidential results and (2) the international groups make public their findings if they agree or disagree with the IEBC decision.

If the results are Raila won, he’s our next president.

If the results are Uhuru won, then what Raila and NASA do and their prospects of success will largely be influenced by what the observer groups say; if the observer groups agree Uhuru won–even with an acknowledgement of some stealing, then it really doesn’t matter what Raila and NASA do.

If, on the other hand, the observer group disagrees with IEBC and tables its own evidence of massive rigging, which corroborates Raila and NASA’s evidence, then Raila will head to Court with very high prospects of prevailing this time.

More on this if time allows

 

My Response To A Blogger Implying Use of Government Force To Crush the Opposition

[Blogger] enda pole pole don’t talk about how “long the arm of govt” is as that could also be crimes against humanity for which I can assure you neither Kenyans nor the international community will allow to happen without those most responsible being hauled to ICC but this time having that as their new residence.

What we want, are rational and calm minds to prevail, looking at what these forms say and whether any of them have been forged or not.

If they’ve not been forged, then the forms are tallied and the winner is declared and sworn as our next president; that’s all, no one, even Raila will question that I assume ditto for Uhuru.

However, if some of the forms are forged, then the scenarios I described in my other blog will unfold.

As to your question whether NASA has their copies of Forms 34A & B, yes they do but I can also tell you Raila agents were prevented from scanning the forms, which is illegal and that’s got to feature in evaluating the validity of the results.

Note what I said in my blog Good News Regarding Elections 2017:

Thus, if on Tuesday certain conditions are in place, which Uhuru would know correspond to the information I am referring to, he’ll cut loose and not do as JB would want and that’s why this is good news because I believe those conditions will be present.

If they’re not present, Uhuru will be our next president even with the help of some rigging and I’ll be the first one to accept the fact key here is the presence of these conditions not the absence of rigging.

​So far, the wiser minds are prevailing over the hardcore hardliners, otherwise we would have had Uhuru declared winner last night. This is in part because I know those conditions are present, therefore putting Uhuruto at great peril if they chose to make decision that could see their ICC cases resumed.

Question is, who will prevail in the end? The hardcore hardliners or the wiser minds, especially given the ICC implication of whatever final action they take–again, assuming they lost at the polls which is where all the evidence known to us points to notwithstanding the numbers projected by IEBC we know at least in specific incidences to be false and therefore bogus in every respect.

This question will be a moot issue if tabulated and GENUINE Forms 34A&B show either Raila or Uhuru as the winner and whoever that is goes on to be sworn as our next president.

Le me note here there was talk within Uhuru circles sometime ago where a scenario where Uhuru refuses to concede under certain circumstances the triggering mechanism being something we know was mulled, but time has passed for that to have been executed and the tiny window left for that to happen is closing fast so I doubt it’ll happen–again, note this is an option put on the table by the hardcore hardliners.

On the other hand, if there’s evidence of tampering with Forms 34A&B, then the analysis is as I offered in my other blog on this issue, namely, a challenge in the Supreme Court which can be successful only if there’s a finding of “clear evidence of widespread and systemic irregularities in the election,” which I can now tell you is the condition I alluded to in the “Good News” blog and that’s not a local, but international standard–think a standard ICC and other international bodies will consider in assessing the way forward.

However, note, it will not be just the Supreme Court only making that finding, but also the various international observer groups in Kenya and note also the marked difference from 2013 where we did not have such preconditions, even though at the time we had Uhuru and Ruto as ICC suspects.

The initial posture in that year was, “seriously, who would elect them?” but, when ICC was converted into a battle-cry to save certain communities, it was too late to speak of any conditions and the attitude morphed into, “okay; these ICC suspects may actually win but, if they do, they still must answer to the ICC charges and, if found liable, they’ll face the music.” Little did those making those assumptions know about the schemers and plotters in team Uhuruto working in tandem with a complicit IEBC and a smiling Kibaki who was only perfectly willing to help in rigging for them, something he had experience having rigged himself back into office in 2007 and, as they say, the rest became history.

Back to the current situation, as I noted in my other blog, I know from credible sources both locally and internationally NASA and Jubilee were told and know what these conditions are, which the international community would look to see whether present to determine their position forward, now you know one of them, probably the most important, everything considered.

Put another way, If IEBC declares Uhuru as president despite the presence of at least this one condition, and Raila challenges the declaration, then look for either Supreme Court nullifying the presidential election or, in the unlikely event they go the Mutunga road and dismiss Raila’s petition this condition notwithstanding, look for things going in the direction of a coalition government, if not the way I mention above in which there’s a “slim window” left open but closing fast, and is as I note one of the options the hardcore hardliners prefer, not counting genuine votes cast, tallying genuine Forms 34A&B and having the winner declared as president.

To these hardliners, doing the latter is anathema.

​Let’s hope they don’t prevail in the end for their prescription for the country’s woes is poison.

 

My Thoughts and Analysis of Where Things Stand Today with Elections 2017 and Potential Outcome

Forms 34A & B’s are currently being scrutinized at the National Tallying Center.

The way I see it, there are 3 outcomes I see out of Bomas of which only 1 is good for Raila and a second only partially good:

(1) All 34A&B’s are genuine and the tally gives Raila a win above the threshold of 50%+1 (2) Some of the 34A & B’s are not genuine and the tally gives Uhuru a win above the requisite 50%+1 but those come from places where we didn’t have agents or are “inconsequential” in the larger scope of things and (3) significant number of 34A & B’s are outright fraudulent and tilt the scales in favor of Uhuru.

IEBC declares Raila winner in the first scenario but declares Uhuru in the second and third scenarios.

Raila petitions the Supreme Court in both cases (2&3) loses in #2 and gets relief in 3 only if the evidence is clear and inescapable IEBC has perpetuated a fraud in declaring winner based on fraudulent Form A&Bs but this will largely depend on how significant the “significant” number is, how widespread and whether Raila had agents in those areas. If it’s significant and widespread but Raila didn’t have agents there, the Court will dismiss the petition and Uhuru will be sworn as president.

If they find otherwise, the petition will be granted and Raila will be president.

If there’s outbreak of violence following dismissal of Raila’s petition, then we’ll have a situation akin to 2008 where Uhuru is forced or voluntarily reaches out to NASA to negotiate a deal and form a coalition government but this option will depend on on how widespread, violent and deadly the uprising is.

A credible source in Jubilee tells me there’s already a pre-determined number of destruction of property and deaths Jubilee will let happen before coming to the table to negotiate a coalition government.

The same source also tells me key string pullers in Jubilee have no interest and are adamant about one thing should this be the case, namely, being forced to form a coalition government and that is, Raila cannot be part of that government; they would only take Mudavadi and Kalonzo.

Which one of these options comes to pass? We’ll know at the conclusion of the Bomas exercise which should be later today or tomorrow for sure.

One thing the country can breath a sigh of relief is we’ve avoided the “ICC written all over its face option” I reported Uhuruto were grappling with so the wiser men and women prevailed on that leading to where we are today.

This reaffirms what some of us have known all along and that is, Uhuruto know no presidency is worth being hauled to ICC; good for them, good for the country.

The other two options I posted yesterday are in play and one is reflected in the above 3 potential outcomes.

Let’s continue praying for peace in the country.

 

The Presidential Tally IEBC Is Announcing Is A Sham Engineered by Jubilee Chefs and Schemers

IEBC is purporting to announce presidential results but what they’ve put out there is nothing but a sham.

In sum, Uhuru, who rigged himself into office with the help of Kibaki, and his henchmen used murdered IEBC ICT Manager’s password to access the voter system upon which they altered data resulting in manipulated results from all 47 counties.

We have evidence of this and have shared with those who must have it as we make the case Uhuru cannot be allowed to abuse voters rights like this and expect to rule over them kwa kivua.

The presidential results IEBC is purporting to announce are a total facade and not based at all on what happened at the polls.

The real numbers, based on real voters who stood in line for hours and voted are Raila garnered 8,452,134 while Uhuru received 7,846,528.

These numbers do not reflect more than 1 million votes Raila and NASA were denied owing to systemic and deliberate disenfranchising of voters during the registration process of which we have evidence and no, those morons calling for me to table the evidence are too thick to realize this is no place for such we have and will present the evidence to those who must have it.

The whole thing is one giant fraud unlike anything we’ve seen in the country and worse than 2007 rigging which nearly plunged the country into a civil war.

Deliberations are under way on the next course of action but Raila has rejected the results and is calling for Kenyans to stand for their rights.

 

Why Raila Is The Man for the Job, Not Uhuru

In my column this weekend Why Raila Is The Man For The Job, Not Uhuru, I make the case why:

The 2016 presidential race in the US pitted two opponents the country loathed equally, but had to choose one since the independent candidates stood no chance.

Hard to believe, even as these two candidates were so loathed, each had loyal supporters inseparable from them, such that Donald Trump boasted he could shoot someone on the streets of New York and not lose a single vote.

We have the same paradox in Kenya, where much as Raila Odinga is loved across the country, he has diehard critics who hate him. In the same vein, much as Uhuru Kenyatta has utterly failed as President, he has supporters who praise him, and cannot wait to hear he has rigged himself back to power.

It’s hard to know in concrete numbers how much support each has, and all the major pollsters are dismissed as bought and paid for, so their numbers don’t tell us much.

It’s clear, however, Jubilee is losing ground in a number of counties they were hoping to capture and that’s why they’ve been camping there. But their efforts have been met with great resistance, owing to the better job NASA has done reminding voters who’s responsible for their suffering.

That’s the case NASA is making.

Jubilee, on its part, keeps launching and relaunching old projects and pointing to them as their success stories, when they’re not busy siphoning to themselves and their cronies funds intended for these very initiatives. There’s another reason why the Tyranny of Numbers this time favours NASA and not UhuRuto besides the record they cannot defend, and that is NASA’s change message and, more specifically, its believable message of hope and change. The simple question is, who would 50%+1 of voters going to the poll on 8/8 believe?

The odds are it’ll be Raila, owing to one overriding reason — it is far more believable Raila and NASA can deliver on the things they say they want to do, than it is believing Uhuru because Jubilee have a record of failure against which they will be judged.

Raila, on the other hand, has a long list of accomplishments, coupled with some voters giving him the benefit of doubt that includes the projects he initiated as Prime Minister. Uhuru is now busy claiming credit. However, having the Tyranny of Numbers in their favour doesn’t mean Raila and NASA win.

Rather, the task for both sides is to make sure as near to 100 per cent of their supporters get out and vote.

With people suffering from hunger and poverty, that task will be far much easier for NASA and, were that to be the case and the majority of those genuinely voting vote for Raila, Uhuru will be defeated. In this case, he should do the honourable thing and accept the verdict of the people and join the following leaders in Africa, who lost and stepped down:

President John Mahama of Ghana; President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria; Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Joyce Banda of Malawi.

That’s the class of former presidents Uhuru should want to be associated with, not those dragged from office kicking and screaming such as Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast and Yahya Jammeh of Gambia, among other strongmen of yesteryear who ruled their oppressed masses with an iron fist, and have only the endless suffering of their people and deaths as their legacy.

It’s an easy decision and we hope and pray that voters show up and vote in masses for Raila because failure to do so would be giving Jubilee an opening to rig. Voting in masses for Raila will deny Jubilee the opportunity to do so.

May we have a fair and peaceful election, and may the candidate who garners the makority of the majority of the votes genuinely cast be sworn as our next President.

 

NASA Statement on Raid on NASA Offices in Nairobi Friday Evening And Appeal to All Regarding Voting

Will repeat this till the last vote is cast: Let not this or any other provocation by Jubilee discourage or deter anyone from doing the only thing that’s going to send Uhuru packing come Tuesday and that is, if you’re a registered voter, just show up and vote on Tuesday; if you’re not registered, take or encourage at least 1 person to vote better yet, take or encourage as many registered voters as you can to go vote on Tuesday for Raila and NASA and let’s all sit back and watch history being made when Raila is sworn as our next president, ushering in a new era of leadership and governance unlike anything we’ve seen in the past to be continued in 2022 when Raila hands the baton to Kalonzo Musyoka.

The tyranny of numbers is in our favor but that will mean nothing if everyone registered to vote or as near 100% of the registered voters don’t show up to vote in all corners of the country where Raila and NASA have support be it massively as in the case of our strongholds or even deep in Central where the support is scant but every vote count and will definitely count this time around for reasons we can disclose after Raila is elected but this time sworn as our next president.

We pray for peaceful, open and transparent elections come Tuesday.

 

 

Thanking Members of Congress for their Concern for Kenya and Holding Peaceful Elections

Our thanks and appreciation of Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Rep. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations; and Rep. Karen Bass, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations for introducing a resolution urging the Government of Kenya and Kenya’s political parties to respect democratic principles and hold credible, peaceful, and transparent elections [on Tuesday].

The resolution passed.

For Immediate Release
July 17, 2017

Contacts:

Engel Press Office 202-226-9103
Jeff Beck (Smith) 202-225-3765
Zach Seidl (Bass) 202-225-7084

REPS. ENGEL, SMITH, AND BASS INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN RESOLUTION ON KENYA’S ELECTIONS

WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Rep. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations; and Rep. Karen Bass, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, have introduced a resolution urging the Government of Kenya and Kenya’s political parties to respect democratic principles and hold credible, peaceful, and transparent elections next month (H.Res.449).

“The United States has long encouraged Kenya’s democratic consolidation, and I commend our Ambassador to Kenya, Bob Godec, for his work on this issue the past five years. However, with Kenya’s elections less than a month away, I’m concerned by reports of delays in preparation and the fact that there may be insufficient time to test critical voting equipment. These types of delays contribute to an environment in which the credibility of the polls could be at question,” said Rep. Engel. “We’re introducing this resolution because we consider Kenya a key strategic partner for the United States and because the potential for these elections to have far-reaching implications across the continent.”

“Kenya has had two consecutive national elections–2007 and 2013–each of which has been marked by questionable results and violent aftermaths. We call on the ruling party, opposition parties and the election commission to work to ensure that the election this August is transparent. This will enable the people to participate in a free and fair process that allows them to have confidence in the accuracy of the results.” said Rep. Smith.

“As Kenya sets to hold its presidential elections next month, it is important that Congress stresses the necessity of transparent, free and fair procedure for the Kenyan government and election officials. These elections present an opportunity for Kenya to work responsibly to mitigate violence and they also offer the country a chance to serve as an example for others in the region. I’m proud to support this important resolution and urge my colleagues to do so as well.” said Rep. Karen Bass.

Background:

Kenya is a key partner for the United States – both to promote regional security and as a hub for humanitarian assistance, finance, and transportation. Kenya will hold general elections on August 8, 2017. In light of Kenya’s recent history of contentious elections, this resolution urges the country to hold credible, peaceful, free and fair elections, and calls upon Kenyan citizens to resolve any disputes through the legal system. This resolution also supports the assistance provided by the State Department and USAID for election-related preparations, as the United States is the largest bilateral donor to Kenya’s electoral process. In addition, this resolution encourages the role that Kenyan civil society organizations have played to ensure a peaceful pre- and post-election environment and by providing critical early warning and response measures to mitigate election-related violence.

 

Good News Regarding 2017 Elections in Kenya

I learned something this evening leading me to believe we’ll have peaceful elections on Tuesday and the winner will be sworn as our next president.

The odds of that not happening are slim to none if Jubilee has the same information, which I believe they do.

Note when I say Jubilee, there’s a recognition the alliance is divided into 3 factions lets call them JA, JB and JC. This is more or less the same thing we had with the Kanu A and Kanu B factions back in the day. Same concept, different players except some of the characters are the same.

JA is UK hardcore. This is the group that wants Uhuru and Jubilee back in power at any price and by all means, including violence the international community can tolerate and believe it or not, they have put a number of deaths and value of destruction of property that would entail. That comes from a credible source I have no reason to believe she made that up, unless she’s being fed disinformation by her own source, which is entirely possible but I doubt.

JB are the rational moderates among whom you’ll find many from the business community. While this group prefers Uhuru and Jubilee over Raila and NASA, they wouldn’t mind Raila serving as president. In fact, some of them are publicly against him but privately assure him they’re be right there backing him up if he’s sworn as president, which is ironical because by then he wouldn’t need them but the converse is not true.

JC is the dreamy Team Ruto22 or RX22. This faction’s only agenda is to figure how to have Ruto elected president in 2022 election of Uhuru is secondary. In fact, it would better for them if Uhuru loses than having Uhuru in place to anoint someone who those who make it possible, i.e., JA want and that won’t be Ruto.

Then there’s the JCAMS who are the freelancers in Jubilee who owe no particular allegiance to any of the groups and freely associate with all of them but among them are your classic chameleons and thus the acronym.

An interesting question is where is Uhuru in all of this and my hunch is in none of them. Uhuru will do and side with the group he feels compelled at the moment and depending on the circumstances but don’t confuse that for being a JCAM as the motives are different and born out of necessity.

Thus, if on Tuesday certain conditions are in place, which Uhuru would know correspond to the information I am referring to, he’ll cut loose and not do as JB would want and that’s why this is good news because I believe those conditions will be present.

If they’re not present, Uhuru will be our next president even with the help of some rigging and I’ll be the first one to accept the fact key here is the presence of these conditions not the absence of rigging.

However, and not to be misinterpreted or misunderstood, I feel strongly that those conditions would be present and therefore the reason I believe we’ll have fair, transparent and peaceful elections.

So, people, go vote come Tuesday. If you can’t because you’re not registered, take someone who’s registered to vote or provide fare. If you can’t do either on the ground, reach out to family and friends by any and all means possible.

Let my hunch and believe based on this information come to pass by the grace of God.

 

Good News Regarding Elections 2017

I learned something today leading me to believe we’ll have peaceful elections on Tuesday and the winner will be sworn as our next president.

The odds of that not happening are slim to none if Jubilee has the same information, which I believe they do.

Please note when I say Jubilee, there’s a recognition the alliance is divided into 3 factions lets call them JA, JB and JC.

JA is UK hardcore. This is the group that wants Uhuru and Jubilee back in Power at any price and by all means, including violence the international community can tolorate and believe it or not, they have put a number of deaths and value of destruction of property that would entail.

JB are the rational moderates among whom you’ll find many from the business community. While this group prefers Uhuru and Jubilee over Raila and NASA, they wouldn’t mind Raila serving as presudent.

JC is the dreamy Team Ruto22. Their only agenda is to figure how to have Ruto elected president in 2022 election of Uhuru is secondary. In fact, it would better for them if Uhuru loses than having Uhuru in place to anoint someone who those who make it possible, i.e., JA want and that won’t be Ruto.

An interesting question is where is Uhuru in all of this and my hunch is in none of them. Uhuru will do and side with the group he feels compelled at the momemt and depending on the circumstances.

Thus, if on Tuesday certain conditions are in place, which Uhuru would know correspond to the information I am referring to, he’ll cut loose and not do as JB would want and that’s why this is good news because I believe those conditions will be present.

If they’re not present, Uhuru will be our next president even with the help of some rigging and I’ll be the first one to accept the fact key here is the presence of these conditions not the absence of rigging.

So, people, go vote come Tuesday. If you can’t because you’re not registered, take someone who’s registered to vote or provide fare. If you can’t do either on the ground, reach out to family and friends by any and all means possible.

Let my hunch and believe based on this information come to pass by the grace of God.