Kimani wa Nyoike is Dead
- Thread starter Meria
- Start date
Mlolongo elections_1988
The 1988 elections were the most scandalous ever conducted in Kenya, sending to Parliament a large number of people who were never actually elected.
On August 20, 1986, Kanu delegates made a resolution that would scandalise elections for decades to come. The decision to conduct primaries by having voters queue behind the image of their favoured candidates – which was known as queue voting – set the stage for massive rigging. Voting malpractices had been witnessed in other elections but the decision made it possible to cheat on a scale never witnessed before.
The thrust of the argument was that a good election should never reveal who one voted for. But under the queue system, people holding sensitive positions such as the police, party officials and even church leaders would be scared of lining up and revealing whose side they were on.
There were no records on the number of people who queued behind a candidates photograph. How then, could one file an appeal? Under Kanu rules, officials were required to count people in the queue with “an audible voice”. Some did, others did not. It later emerged that officials blatantly declared winners of their choice, regardless of the length of the queue. And then, there was one of the most controversial rules: anyone who garnered more than 70 per cent of the “votes” was declared elected unopposed.
Among those who lost in the elections were giants like Vice President Mwai Kibaki, who was so incensed that he called a press conference at night and declared: “Even rigging requires some intelligence.” He was relieved of his vice presidency position in a reshuffle the same year and named to the Health portfolio. Others locked out were Martin Shikuku, Charles Rubia and Kimani wa Nyoike. Shikuku was a sharp government critic who had spoken strongly against official corruption.
MHSRIP
The 1988 elections were the most scandalous ever conducted in Kenya, sending to Parliament a large number of people who were never actually elected.
On August 20, 1986, Kanu delegates made a resolution that would scandalise elections for decades to come. The decision to conduct primaries by having voters queue behind the image of their favoured candidates – which was known as queue voting – set the stage for massive rigging. Voting malpractices had been witnessed in other elections but the decision made it possible to cheat on a scale never witnessed before.
The thrust of the argument was that a good election should never reveal who one voted for. But under the queue system, people holding sensitive positions such as the police, party officials and even church leaders would be scared of lining up and revealing whose side they were on.
There were no records on the number of people who queued behind a candidates photograph. How then, could one file an appeal? Under Kanu rules, officials were required to count people in the queue with “an audible voice”. Some did, others did not. It later emerged that officials blatantly declared winners of their choice, regardless of the length of the queue. And then, there was one of the most controversial rules: anyone who garnered more than 70 per cent of the “votes” was declared elected unopposed.
Among those who lost in the elections were giants like Vice President Mwai Kibaki, who was so incensed that he called a press conference at night and declared: “Even rigging requires some intelligence.” He was relieved of his vice presidency position in a reshuffle the same year and named to the Health portfolio. Others locked out were Martin Shikuku, Charles Rubia and Kimani wa Nyoike. Shikuku was a sharp government critic who had spoken strongly against official corruption.
MHSRIP
MbitikaZetu
Elder Lister
MHSRIP
Nattydread
Elder Lister
Wah! I didn't even think the man was still alive. His son Chuhi was a childhood friend. R.I.P.
Kasaman
Elder Lister
MHSRIP
Kasaman
Elder Lister
Mlolongo !
Nzyoki
Lister
Simjui but R.I.P mzee
Field Marshal
Elder Lister
Brilliant man. RIP.