Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

A tribunal formed to investigate the conduct of four electoral agency officials yesterday heard that they worked in cahoots with Azimio leadership during the announcement of presidential results.

Geoffrey Lang’at, who was the second witness to take the stand, told the Justice Aggrey Muchelule-chaired tribunal the actions of the four commissioners – commonly known as Cherera Four – were intended to cause anarchy and division so that the country could burn down.

Lang’at, who is one of the petitioners seeking the ouster of Irene Masit, claimed that the commissioners’ presser at Serena was a way of telling Kenyans to fight.

Three of the commissioners have since resigned. They are Vice-Chairperson Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi and Justus Nyang’aya.

The tribunal heard that the press statement issued by the quartet on August 15 was similar to the one that was issued by the Azimio leadership at KICC on the same day and clips of both statements were produced before the tribunal.

“The context of the two statements were similar in so many ways; they had a similar case in every aspect which showed it was drafted by the same person,” claimed Lang’at.

Besides Muchelule, members of the tribunal comprise Carolyne Daudi, the Vice-Chairperson, Linda Kiome, Mathew Nyabena and retired Colonel Saeed Khamis.

The petitioner claimed that Masit has never filed any document to challenge the collusion with Azimio la Umoja leadership.

He argued that the presser at Serena and affidavits filed in court by the four commissioners were meant to ensure no good governance would be achieved after declarations of the results.

He sought to have the tribunal declare that the action of Masit and her former colleagues was in breach of Article 81 of the Constitution.

An affidavit Masit filed at the Supreme Court presidential petition where she distanced herself from the presidential results came to bite her yesterday as it was produced in court as evidence by Lang’at.

Direct division

Masit’s lawyer, Donald Kipkorir, claimed that the witness did not have evidence of direct division at the commission and was only relying on the presser and affidavit.

He claimed the issues that Lang’at raised had already been canvassed at the Supreme Court and that they did not break any law when they filed an affidavit at the highest court in the land.

He asked the petitioner whether the four commissioners broke any procurement law by hiring advocates of their choice at the Supreme Court to which he replied in the negative.

Two other witnesses also testified against Masit.

Zachariah Matayo and Steve Owuor, who also filed petitions against the Cherera Four asked the tribunal to find them guilty of gross misconduct and incompetence.

Matayo who represented the Republican Party gave the chronology of events that happened at Bomas, saying that the four commissioners were involved in the electoral process contrary to their claims.

Owuor on the other hand argued that Masit’s appointment was actually in violation of the Constitution.

He said the court had already found that she was not eligible for appointment, since five years had not lapsed from the time she contested for an MP seat in 2017 but did not revoke it to avoid interfering with the elections.

Kipkorir in cross-examination claimed that the petition by Owuor was weak and did not consist of grounds for her removal and neither did it say what orders he was seeking.

Owuor, however, insisted that he had raised reasonable grounds for the removal of the commissioner for gross misconduct and incompetence.

Tribunal adjourned the proceedings to today where representatives of Yaya Apartments and Serena Hotel are expected to testify.

Commissioners Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye and IEBC executive officer Marjan Hussein Marjan are also expected to testify.