My father knew his life was in danger before announcing 2022 poll results, Chebukati's daughter says
Nekesa disclosed that her father had received intelligence warning him that someone had ordered his assassination to stop him from announcing the results.
Nekesa Chebukati, a daughter of former IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati, has revealed that there was an attempt on her father’s life during the 2022 general election.
Speaking at his burial on Saturday, Nekesa disclosed that he had received intelligence warning him that someone had ordered his assassination to stop him from announcing the results.
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Despite the chilling warning, Chebukati did not waver in carrying out his duty. According to Nekesa, he remained firm in his commitment to the truth and went ahead with the declaration.
"On the day, just a moment before he went to Bomas to announce the results, at that time he had already received intelligence that somebody wanted to end his life to stop him from announcing the results," she stated.
Recalling their final moments before he left for Bomas, Nekesa said their family gathered in prayer. She embraced her father, knowing the weight of what he was about to do.
"We sat together, and the pastor prayed, and I hugged my father, and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and I said to him that he doesn't need to explain anything because I knew he would stand with the truth and for Kenyans," she said.
Shed a tear
For the first time in her life, she saw her father shed a tear, realising it could have been their last moment together. Before he left, she handed him a speech she had drafted for him to read after the announcement and reassured him that the family would stand by him no matter what.
"We looked at each other without really saying much but knowing that that might have been the last time we could have seen each other. I have never seen my dad cry, but that day my dad shed a tear," she recalled.
Following the announcement of the results, chaos erupted at Bomas.
When Chebukati returned home, Nekesa said he was bleeding but was unaware of it.
"The speech he gave at Bomas was so impactful that even after he came home he said that he did not remember what he said; he took off his shoes, and he was bleeding, but he even didn't realise he was bleeding. This was just my dad, to get the work done, and he was proud of what he had done in Bomas," she stated.
Chebukati was appointed the IEBC chairman by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in January 2017 and oversaw both the 2017 and 2022 general elections.
He passed away on February 20, 2025 after battling brain cancer.
Eulogising him, his children Emmanuel, Jonathan and Nekesa described him as the best father who guided them with wisdom and integrity, vowing to uphold the values he instilled in them.
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