Moses Kuria Admits Ambassadors Helped To Secure Ruto's Victory At Bomas: "Kulikuwa Na Hatari"

• Public Service Cabinet Secretary has revealed events that ensured President William Ruto's victory was not interfered with at the Bomas of Kenya
• Kuria claimed that he called the three Western envoys to the national tallying centre to witness the situation, arguing that their presence played a key role in Ruto's win
• He acknowledged that the atmosphere at the Bomas tense made him panic out of fear despite being sure of Kenya Kwanza's victory

Nancy Odindo, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has admitted that Western envoys from the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union played a significant role in ensuring President William Ruto's win in the 2022 general election.

Why did Kuria invite ambassadors to Bomas?

During an interview with Kass FM, Kuria said that he contacted the three ambassadors during the tense vote-tallying period in the country.

“So I told Duale and Ndindi Nyoro, these people are going to put us on task. So I quickly contacted the ambassadors from Western countries, since I was the one coordinating them," Kuria recalled.

He added:

"I called US, UK, and EU ambassadors and persuaded them to come to Bomas so that they could witness the unfoldings firsthand so that if any incident or deaths occurred, they would have been there to witness. That was a big step that saved us,” Kuria noted.

The CS acknowledged that the atmosphere at the national tallying centre that preceded the declaration of the president-elect caused him to panic out of fear.

He, however, maintained that the Kenya Kwanza team was sure of victory.

“There was a looming danger, and we were very few. I was not sure if we could come out of the Bomas of Kenya alive.You know, the other side had the government, and they were very many.

They angered us, and despite being sure that we had won, the looming danger at Bomas made me panic," Kuria claimed.

Chaos erupts at the Bomas of Kenya

On August 15, 2022, the two coalitions differed strongly before the announcement of the president.

There were physical confrontations where chairs were hurled at the former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, lecterns were flung down the auditorium, and delegates were whisked to safety, resulting in an altercation between GSU officers and supporters of the Azimio La Umoja and Kenya Kwanza factions.

After the situation was contained, Chebukati declared Ruto the winner with 7,176,141 votes in the tough presidential competition, as Raila Odinga followed closely with 6,942,930 votes.

Recounting the events that transpired, Chebukati wrote to Ruto in January to form an inquiry to probe attempts to topple his win.

"The Commission wrote to the president to form a public inquiry with respect to the process leading to the declaration of the final results for the presidential election in 2022. The gravity of these attempts to topple the will of the people cannot be wished away or swept under the carpet," Chebukati said.