My father faced death threats before announcing 2022 election results, Chebukati’s daughter reveals

Wafula Chebukati's daughter, Nekesa Chebukati, has disclosed that there was an attempt on her father’s life during the 2022 general elections.

She revealed that the late former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman had received intelligence that someone had ordered his assassination to prevent him from announcing the election results.

Speaking at her father’s burial on Saturday, Nekesa recounted the tense moments before he left for Bomas of Kenya to declare the results. Despite knowing his life was in danger, he remained determined to fulfill his duty.

"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 said.

Before he left, the family gathered for prayer. Nekesa recalled looking into her father’s eyes, understanding the weight of his decision, and assuring him that he did not need to explain himself.

"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 recounted.

Nekesa described an emotional moment, witnessing something she had never seen before—her father shedding a tear, aware that their meeting could have been their last.

"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 said.

She handed him a speech she had prepared for him to read after the announcement and reassured him of the family’s unwavering support.

After the chaotic scenes at Bomas that followed the announcement, Nekesa revealed that her father returned home injured.

"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 realize he was bleeding; this was just my dad, to get the work done, and he was proud for what he had done in Bomas," she recalled.

Chebukati, who was appointed IEBC Chairman by then-President Uhuru Kenyatta in January 2017, oversaw both the 2017 and 2022 general elections. He passed away on February 20 after battling brain cancer.