Governor Mutai impeachment case: Electronic voting system was credible, verifiable, and free from irregularities - ICT expert

ICT Authority experts have assured the Senate that the electronic voting system used in the Kericho County Assembly during Governor Erick Mutai’s impeachment was credible, verifiable, and free from irregularities.

The testimony was delivered by Philip Irode, an ICT Authority expert, who presented a detailed report on the system’s functionality and integrity.

The ICT Authority expert confirmed that all 33 Members of County Assembly (MCAs) who voted in favour of the governor’s impeachment did so legitimately, and that the voting process was fully verifiable.

“Based on the logs extracted from the voting module as well as the system events module, the number of MCAs who voted on the impeachment of the governor is verifiable,” he said.

Responding to Senators’ questions, Irode explained that the system prevented anyone from voting on behalf of another MCA.

“You cannot vote for any other person or an MCA with the link provided alone. Both the username, which is the IPPD, and the password, which was the ID number, are required,” he said.

Irode also confirmed that there was no evidence of double voting or any other compromise of the system.

“From the evidence provided and the access logs collected from the voting system logs and the admin and system events log module, there is no evidence of multiple voting. Neither is there evidence of other compromise of the voting system,” he told Senators.

The experts’ testimony comes amid claims by Governor Mutai that the impeachment was politically motivated.

Mutai has alleged that the Speaker of the County Assembly manipulated the vote count to achieve the two-thirds threshold needed for his removal, and he disputed the official tally of 33 votes, claiming only 28 MCAs voted for his ouster.

Speaking at the Senate on Wednesday, August 27, Mutai alleged that the Speaker of the Kericho County Assembly manipulated the numbers to achieve the two-thirds threshold required for his ouster.

“What is happening in Kericho is a well-orchestrated political conspiracy to remove the governor. One is for political interest and expedition, because at the County Assembly we have a Speaker whose interest is to be the Kericho governor,” Mutai claimed in his opening remarks.

The governor further contested the official count, asserting that only 28 MCAs voted for his impeachment, despite the Assembly recording 33 affirmative votes.

Mutai, who was impeached after 33 out of 47 MCAs voted for his removal, urged Senators to review the matter objectively.

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