Raila Odinga, the leader of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party, asserted on Monday that four Venezuelans, including one named Jose Camargo who was frequently mentioned during the Supreme Court hearings on the petition for the 2022 presidential election, are in the nation in an effort to tamper with the voting machines.
Odinga claimed that they had located the suspects at the Maasai Mara Lodge, where they are currently staying while carrying out their “illegal operations.”
Odinga claimed that the people had met Wafula Chebukati, the former chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), and Ezra Chiloba, the chairman of the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
“We have information that the mercenaries who accessed the servers during the elections, one of them being Jose Camargo, are in the country. They were living at a hotel in Kileleshwa but left after realising we were aware of their mission and moved to another hotel in Karen and are now at the Maasai Mara Lodge,” he said.
Along with other coalition officials, Mr. Odinga had previously attended a church service at St. Stephen’s ACK church on Jogoo Road in Nairobi. Azimio will repeat its anti-government demonstrations the next week, according to the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), if President William Ruto ignores their demands.
“If Ruto doesn’t respond to us by the end of the week, we’ll start up our massive protests again after Ramadan, “ Mr. Odinga warned.
He declared that his team was prepared to negotiate with President Ruto’s team as long as their terms included lowering the high cost of living, opening the election servers for audit, reconstituting the IEBC, including devolving its structures, respecting multi-party democracy, and subsequently removing Eldas MP Adan Keynan from the government’s team for the negotiations.
As part of its team of negotiators, the government side introduced Mr. Keynan, a Jubilee Party member, together with Senators Dr. Boni Khalwale of Kakamega, George Murugara of Tharaka, Essy Okenyuri of Kibwezi West, Mwengi Mutuse of Taita Taveta Women, and Hillary Sigei of Bomet. Otiende Amollo, a Rarieda MP, ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, Senators Enoch Wambua and Ledama Ole Kina, both from Kitui, and Members of Parliament David P’Kosing, Millie Odhiambo, and Amina Mnyanzi all support Mr. Odinga.
Keynan was elected on a Jubilee Party ticket and thus legally remains a member of the Azimio coalition; hence, Mr. Odinga maintained on Monday that he cannot be a part of the team representing Kenya Kwanza.
Azimio, according to Mr. Odinga, is dedicated to the negotiations but will carry on with his nonviolent demonstrations, which are protected by Article 37 of the Constitution.