Gikaria fined Sh2.5 million by IEBC over Ol Kalou utterances

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC) has fined Nakuru Town West MP David Gikaria Sh 2.5 million after he was found guilty of committing an electoral offence by violating the electoral code of conduct over utterances made in Ol Kalou Constituency.

A Disciplinary Committee chaired by Commissioner Alutalala Mukhwana with Commissioners Francis Aduol, Noor Hassan and Anne Nderitu issued a stern warning to Gikaria against such remarks in future telling him that he might be barred from participating in future elections.

“The IEBC disciplinary committee has ordered Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria to physically present himself before IEBC headquarters and deliver a public apology to Kenyans over the unfortunate utterance he made last week in Olkalou Constituency,” said Mukhwana.

Advocate Michael Ombongi who represented Gikaria said that they were not satisfied with the judgment made by the IEBC and requested for the certified copies of the judgement in order to advice his client accordingly on his next course of action since the judgment was unfair.

Ombongi stated that his client was not properly invited to the committee neither was he supplied with video evidence and also asserted that there was no evidence of money arguing that the matter had been taken out of context to the disadvantage of the legislator.

Gikaria did not appear before the commission on Monday and Tuesday but was represented by his Personal Assistant Joseph Kariuki who said the MP was unwell requesting for rescheduling of the meeting but failed to provide the necessary evidence to prove he was unwell.

“The commission is not satisfied with the reasons for the nonappearance by Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria and orders him to appear before it at 1.30 PM and if he fails to do that the law is very clear on persons who do not honour summons whenever required,” said Alutalala.

The Commissioners wondered whether the legislator was aware that election related cases are time bound and admonished his Personal Assistant for appearing before them without the necessary documentation to prove he was unwell and he was authorised to represent him.

Alutalala sought to see a doctor's letter to ascertain the legislator was unwell and a letter allowing Kariuki to represent Gikaria of which the PA requested for some few minutes to rush and get them which the commissioners accusing him for not taking the commission seriously.

Gikaria last week defended the reason why Ol Kalou residents receiving handouts were required to present their National Identity card details, saying the exercise was intended to account for beneficiaries and had nothing to do with the upcoming parliamentary by-election.

“The claims that the collection of National ID details was aimed at influencing the vote in Ol Kalou Constituency by election is not true at all, Kenya's electoral system relies on biometric verification rather than identity cards alone,” said Gikaria.

The MP pointed out that no one could use another person's identity card to vote, insisting that voters must physically present themselves and be verified using their fingerprint and that the identity card details were being recorded to verify that funds allocated for specific areas had reached the intended beneficiaries.

Gikaria revealed that he had spent more money than initially planned after larger crowds turned up for the outreach programme stating on the previous day he had spent Sh 250,000 and on that day he had another Sh 250,000 and I would like to establish that those who want this money are registered as voters.

“We were around yesterday and I am very sure that nobody went home empty handed, I had some Sh 250,000 for the meeting but more people came in forcing him to go and get some Sh 800,000 in total I spent Sh 1.2 million,” said Gikaria.

The IEBC last week fined Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia Sh1.5 million after finding the legislator guilty of breaching the electoral Code of Conduct following a complaint against the lawmaker over remarks she recently made during the ongoing campaigns in Ol Kalou.

A complainant argued that her utterances amounted to incitement and were likely to fuel violence, intimidation, hatred and hostility among members of the public which led to the IEBC to summon the legislator and grilled her before deciding to fine her.

Commissioner Mukhwana condemned Muhia's remarks as those capable of inciting violence, intimidation and hostility against non-locals and the disciplinary committee had established, after reviewing oral and documentary evidence she had violated the electoral code of conduct.

"Having considered the overwhelming evidence on record, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Disciplinary Committee finds that the respondent is in gross breach of Paragraph 6A of the Electoral Code of Conduct," said Alutalala.

The ruling was issued in the absence of the lawmaker with the verdict coming following public scrutiny against the electoral body that has been largely accused of inaction against elected leaders deemed to be violating electoral laws.

This also comes months after IEBC fined former Kasipul by-election candidates, MP Boyd Were and his then fierce rival Philip Aroko, Sh1,000,000 each with the two found guilty of breaching election regulations that were largely centred on violence.

Besides imposing the fine, the committee directed Muhia to issue a public retraction and apology, affirming what it described as a "commitment to uphold the Constitution and the Electoral Code of Conduct."

“The apology should also include an undertaking by the Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia to refrain from making or disseminating statements capable of inciting violence, hatred or otherwise undermining peaceful electoral processes,” said Mukhwana.

The legislator was further ordered to personally avail herself at Anniversary Towers on Monday, 13, to sign the retraction and apology at the IEBC headquarters before delivering it publicly and issued a stern warning against any future conduct inconsistent with the Electoral Code of Conduct.

Alutalala cautioned the legislator that failure to comply with the committee's directives would attract even stiffer sanctions and that the ruling should serve as a strong message to all candidates and political actors that inflammatory political rhetoric will not be tolerated.

"Any subsequent violation of the Electoral Code of Conduct shall attract further sanctions as are provided which may include but not limited to issuing an order barring her from contesting in any future election conducted by the IEBC in accordance with the applicable law,” said Mukhwana.