Oswago distances himself from chicken gate scandal

Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chief Executive Officer James Oswago has distanced himself from the infamous chicken gate election scandal.

Oswago has denied allegations linking him to the scandal, explaining that his charges were separate and unrelated.

“The particulars of my charge say that I awarded a contract for the supply of 57,000 ballot papers to Smith and Ouzman for the by-election of South Mugirango constituency without telling the tender committee,” said Oswago on Friday, May 9, during an interview with Spice FM.

He explained that his offence was not involving the tender committee, which he claimed did not exist at the time. He added that he never inflated the number or cost of the ballot papers.

“I did not inflate the number of ballot papers nor the cost for the by-elections,” said Oswago.

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Oswago also observed that public understanding of the chicken gate scandal differs sharply from the reality presented in court.

“There is this public fixation with chicken gate, but there is the reality of the chicken gate in the courtroom, and what is in the court is not what is talked about in the press,” said Oswago.

The chicken gate scandal erupted when a court in the United Kingdom accused Kenyan election officials of receiving bribes, called ‘chicken,’ to award lucrative printing contracts to the British company Smith and Ouzman.