The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has written to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) pertaining to an alleged report insinuating that Azimio la Umoja One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga is the clear favourite to clinch the country’s top seat at the August polls.
The alleged report came to light last week after Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho used its so-called findings to claim that Odinga will record a first-round victory in the presidential race by convincingly garnering 60 per cent of the votes.
UDA, in a letter by lawyer Elias Mutuma, questioned NIS’ mandate to ensure that no actor within the public or private sector leverages the security agency’s resources to undermine the ongoing pursuit of a free and fair electoral process.
“Whereas such utterances would ordinarily be dismissed as unfounded, populist, insignificant and inconsequential, they are in this instance of grave concern to our client considering that the source of such information has been attributed to NIS reports by none other than the Principal Secretary of Interior and Coordination of National Government whose Cabinet Secretary sits in the National Security Council,” wrote Mutuma.
“The Director General of NIS is the steward of all reports of the NIS. It is the DG’s obligation to ensure that NIS reports underwritten by public funds serve the national interest and promote national security and are therefore kept confidential.”
The Deputy President William Ruto-led party likewise questioned mechanisms and systems put in place by NIS to prevent the disclosure of the said report, which they claim is meant to advance the interests and cause of Azimio and undermining the confidence of Kenyans in the electoral process.
“The issues canvassed in this complaint raise substantial breaches to the National Intelligence Service Act and warrant immediate and urgent inquiry by this Board given the risk posed by the reckless use of intelligence information to the peace and security of the nation,” said UDA.
UDA has now given the NIS board 14 days to respond to its complaints, failure to which it will involve the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and take the matter to court.
“The Complainant further reserves the right to seek the intervention of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute those responsible for infringing the express provisions of the NIS Act arising from the use of classified information otherwise than in the strict course of duty,” added Mutuma.
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