The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Eacc) has officially commenced investigations against Supreme Court Registrar Esther Nyaiyaki over alleged doctoring of a report that informed the basis of presidential poll nullification by the apex court.
At the same time, the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko ordered a 21 days deadline parallel probe against electoral body officials over the bungled presidential elections.
The twin investigations relating to the annulled last month’s results that saw President Uhuru Kenyatta declared the winner throws comes a month before the October 26 repeat polls.
“Yes we have formally received the petition to investigate alleged alteration of report by Supreme Court Registrar on Forms 34A, 34B in the presidential petition.” Eacc deputy Chief Executive Officer Michale Mubea said.
The petition filed by a private citizen Rashid Mohammed through senior counsel Kioko Kilukumi accuses Nyaiyaki for allegedly presenting a doctored report to Supreme Court judges.
The same was copied to Tobiko, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet and the Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro.
Rashid wants an independent probe to unravel those behind doctoring of the report that the apex court, in a decision by the majority of four judges with two dissenting view ruled that Uhuru’s election on August 8 did not conform to the requirements of the constitution and the Elections Act.
“The report by the registrar of the Supreme Court is the opposite of the findings by the Hon. Lady Justice Njoki Ndung’u regarding these forms. The two contrasting viewpoints cannot be factually correct. The forms 34B and 34A examined by Justice Ndung’u were certified copies deposited in court by the IEBC within 48 hours of the filing of the petition challenging the presidential election,” Rashid states in his complaint.
He further wants the anti-graft body to thoroughly study the dissenting judgements delivered by Justices Njoki Ndung’u and Justice Jackton Ojwang as the basis for the probe arguing that the inevitable conclusion is the report by Nyaiyaki was “doctored” or that someone “doctored” the forms on which she based her report.
“There is a serious offence of subverting the course of justice amongst other criminal offences.” The complainant added.
At the same time, Tobiko directed the Eacc boss Halakhe Waqo and Muhoro investigate the illegalities and irregularities committed in the bungled August 8 polls.
The DPP was clear although the Chief Justice Maraga led court did not apportion blame anyone over the nullified elections, his office is legally mandated to look into the issue under the Elections Offences Act.
He wants to establish whether there were any electoral or criminal offences including corruption and economic crimes committed by the electoral body officials.
“The fact that it did not do so does not take away the powers of the DPP under Article 157(4) of the Constitution or Section 21 of the Elections Offences Act to order such investigations in an appropriate case such as the present one,” Tobiko said.
Tobiko also directed the investigations against to investigate James Orengo and for allegedly unlawfully accessing Iebc servers and for allegedly threatening Jubilee Party chief agent David Chirchir.
“The substance of which is that they allegedly obtained information of the actual presidential election results from IEBC servers from what they called confidential IEBC sources,” Tobiko said.
