Editor's Review

"If you did the right thing, he would give you your due; if you did the wrong thing, he would also give your due."

Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka has recalled an incident where former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati fined him Ksh2 million during the 2017 elections. 

Speaking on Saturday, March 8, Lusaka, who was contesting for the gubernatorial seat, recounted how intense competition led to violent clashes between his supporters and those of his rival. 

In the aftermath, Chebukati intervened and held both him and his rival accountable for the chaos.

"Just to demonstrate how firm Chebukati was: I encountered him twice in 2017 when I was contesting for the Bungoma gubernatorial seat. 

"The competition was tough, and my supporters clashed with my rival’s supporters, forcing him to intervene. I met him, and he told me that I committed a crime and fined both of us Ksh1 million, which we had to pay within 48 hours," he recalled.

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However, the violence did not end there as a second clash between Lusaka's supporters and those of his rivals saw him penalized once again.  

"Another time our supporters clashed again, to which I was fined Ksh1 million and was banned from campaigning for two weeks," he revealed.

File image of Kenneth Lusaka

Lusaka praised Chebukati for his impartiality and strict adherence to electoral laws, stating that he treated all candidates fairly.  

"That is the Chebukati we are talking about. If you did the right thing, he would give you your due; if you did the wrong thing, he would also give your due," he remarked.

As the same time, President William Ruto accepted a request by Kiminini MP Kakai Bisau to rename a school in Trans Nzoia after Chebukati. 

Bisau had requested Ruto to sanction the expansion and development of the Sabata Secondary School, after which it could be renamed the "Wafula Chebukati Centre of Excellence."

"My request, we have got the Sabata Secondary School. We have challenges we land. My request is that if we could get additional land and call that school "Wafula Chebukati Centre of Excellence and put structures and infrastructure, including an ICT centre," the MP said.

Ruto, while addressing the mourners, pledged to take over the development of the school, after which it will be renamed after the former IEBC chairman.

"We will change its name, and I will help you build the school in honour of this patriotic servant of Kenya. I will construct 15 classes in that school and also put an ICT centre, you have requested," he promised.