Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chair Wafula Chebukati has revealed that after announcing the results of the 2022 presidential election, he and three other members of the commission went into hiding.
He was speaking during the launch of the Post-Election Evaluation Report in Nairobi, where he gave a glimpse into what happened after the chaotic announcement at Bomas of Kenya.
Chebukati said that while his fellow commissioners went into hiding at an undisclosed location, he retreated to his house and waited for what would transpire.
His colleagues did not know where he was because they did not have means of communication.
"They call us three musketeers. So, they (commissioners) went into 'Siberia' but they are not telling you where I was. I was in my house, taking my cups of tea and waiting to see if anybody came to the door. Of course, nobody came," Chebukati said.
He said he was relieved to see that the country had moved on peacefully and nobody was looking for him.
On his part, commissioner Abdi Guliye said that he and IEBC CEO Hussein Marjan were whisked away in an incognito vehicle to an undisclosed location where they hid for three days.
He explained that they all left their phones at Bomas to avoid being tracked.
The commissioners feared for their lives because of the intense lobbying and obstruction they had undergone, claiming that the government of the day wanted to manipulate the election results.
"After the Bomas announcement of the results, I recall going into "Siberia" in my own country together with commissioner Boya Molu and CEO Hussein Marjan.
"We went into hiding, had to put off our phones, leave them in Bomas, send away our security and we rode in a Toyota Noah to an unknown location. Our only contact with Kenya or the world was the TV, just to check whether you were killing each other or you were celebrating,” he said.
The three poll officials are set to retire on January 17, 2023, after completing their tenure at the IEBC, and will take home millions in exit packages.
Chebukati will receive Sh12.4 million as computed from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission provisions on gratuity and pension for full-time constitutional commission officers.
The two other IEBC commissioners, Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye, will receive Sh10.3 million each.