Presidential candidate Peter Solomon Gichira is back in the news, 5 weeks after he was charged with attempted suicide.
In a letter to newsrooms yesterday, Gichira, who is running as an independent candidate, demanded the immediate cancellation of the August election and the formation of a caretaker government to prepare for another election within 2 years. He is also demanding that IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati is jailed in a civil court.
Gichira lists 5 reasons that have led him to come to the above conclusion. Among them are lack of an IEBC led voter education exercise, flawed voter registration exercise, improper procurement of ballot papers, flawed voter register audit process and poor judgement by the commissioners.
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“We can only conclude that IEBC is not only incompetent and dishonest, she has been acting unconstitutionally and in disregard of the law. I have already filed a case in the High Court seeking to have the chairman of IEBC, Mr Wafula Chebukati, committed to civil jail for contempt of court. Simply, IEBC is wantonly shepherding Kenyans towards ‘suicidal elections’ on 8th August 2017. The IEBC has completely lost its credibility, it urgently needs to be saved from itself.” the statement reads in part.
Gichira is also demanding a referendum be conducted before the election, to separate two functions, namely: registration/management of voter register on one hand, and conducting/managing the election on the other hand.
Read his statement below.
The last time Gichira was in the news was after reportedly attempting suicide at KICC. He was charged with trying to jump from the 6th floor of Anniversary Towers in a bid to end his life. This was after IEBC refused to clear him for not meeting requirements. According to reports, Gichira turned dramatic after his demand to meet Wafula Chebukati was denied, and instead directed to junior officers.
Also on his charge sheet was creating disturbance and destroying IEBC property.
In the current constitution, if a presidential candidate or his/her deputy dies before the election, the entire exercise will have to be postponed. The law is silent on the realistic chances of the said candidate. For instance, Gichira did not even make an appearance in the latest Infotrak poll.
