Kivuitu tells envoy he had no intention of spoiling election

By David OchamiChairman of the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya Samuel Kivuitu believed he was under constant surveillance, and that commissioners named prior to 2007 elections were there to undermine his authority.
These allegations are contained in a diplomatic cable sent by the US embassy on November 11, 2007 and obtained by WikiLeaks, which alleges that Kivuitu did not intend to stay at the helm of ECK after the poll.
Apparently, he hoped to join the German funded African Elections Institute a few months into the five years contract he was given by the President before the elections.
In the leaked report, Kivuitu declared he was determined to deliver a free and fair election, despite attempts to "influence him to act in an unethical, biased manner" by rallying the masses and Press to his side.

Defunct ECK Chairman Samuel Kivuitu during a Press conference he addressed moments before he announced the disputed 2007 election. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

Kivuitu is said to have threatened to openly declare to the world any attempts to force his hand at the disputed polls.
The cable refers to a conversation between Kivuitu and US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger at a Nairobi restaurant, where the former expressed anxiety at the fact that although he wanted to be reappointed for five years, President Kibaki had left him without an assurance about his future when they met.
19 AppointedKibaki unilaterally appointed 19 commissioners in several batches, in the immediate run-up to the election, sparking opposition fears about his real intentions.
When Kivuitu met Ranneberger, he appeared to dispel reports that ECK was bound to bungle the coming election out of bias.
"I am followed everywhere I go. I want to be sure no one can say I held a secret meeting with the Americans," Kivuitu told the envoy, who, in the cable, observed that the former chairman appeared "feisty, determined and upbeat, showing no signs of the illness that had caused so much concern a month earlier.
"He said he was countering those who were attempting to influence him to act in an unethical, biased manner by using the Press to take his case to the people."
Kivuitu, who had met Kibaki on November 6, 2007, told Ranneberger he knew nothing about the last batch of commissioners appointed by the Head of State, adding they needed training, but did not believe they had capacity to influence him negatively.
But Kivuitu was apprehensive of a previous batch of commissioners he theorised had been named for sinister plots.
According to the cable, Kivuitu told Ranneberger the previous batch of freshly appointed ECK commissioners "came in with an agenda: it was obvious they had been told to take over. But I have powers as chairman and prevented that from happening".
The former chairman told the envoy he was inclined to fight the suspect commissioners by rallying the people to his side. He said: "As long as the people are on my side, the others cannot hurt me."
The official continued to warn that he would make a public statement if there was pressure, including that from commissioners to influence the election.
"If they make it impossible for me to run a fair election, I will not quietly resign and fade away. No, I will hold a mass meeting in Uhuru Park and explain to all the world why I had to resign," Kivuitu apparently said.