ICT CS Mucheru Denies Plot To Rig Elections, Terms Allegations As ‘Political Gimmicks’

NAKURU, Kenya, Jun, 10 – ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru has refuted claims that the government will interfere with election results transmission terming the allegations as baseless.

With just under 60 days to the elections,Mucheru said that the topic is being fueled by a section of politicians hellbent on gaining political mileage as he described the allegations as ‘political gimmicks.’

Mucheru said that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC’s) servers were secure and that his ministry was only working with the commission to enhance internet coverage at polling stations.

“I have been accused of all manner of things including planning to hack the IEBC servers and this is not possible and the allegations are political gimmicks,” he said.

The CS said that the government has instituted a strong IT infrastructure and its trained personnel are capable of combating any attempts to hack IEBC servers.

Ahead of the elections, IEBC has already acquired over 1,000 satellite modems to make sure that all polling stations without internet were fully covered during the elections.

“We have had many efforts to hack the government systems but this has failed as we have adequate ICT security and capacity to deal with any cybercrime threats,” he said.

During the closing of a workshop on the National Cyber Security Strategy, Mucheru said that the government has already hired 100 ICT graduates to help protect government websites and infrastructure from threats posed through cybercrime.

“Kenya is one of the leading countries in terms of internet connectivity and usage and the new Cyber Security Strategy will help address any cybercrime threats,” he said.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i on Thursday allayed concerns that the government will shut down the internet as the country fast approaches the August,9,2022 elections.

Matiang’i faulted a section of politicians for spewing the ‘fake news’ saying that the government will not impose retrogressive laws on Kenyans.

“We have been accused of all manner of things but this will not tempt us to retrogressive steps like shutting down the internet during the elections as we respect the rights of all,” he said.

He made the remarks during a meeting with stakeholders while fine-tuning the cyberspace security strategy to protect the country from emerging local and global threats.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i described the strategy as critical in coordinating intelligence-based protection against threats and vulnerabilities to the country’s ICT infrastructure and systems. He said the new strategy will help deal with emerging global cybercrimes that pose serious investigative and prosecution challenges to security teams due to its evolving nature and the involvement of high-level political and economic interests.

“We are dealing with all manner of cases of people operating either from our country or other countries, maligning or interfering with political systems. This strategy couldn’t have come at the right time, because it will enable us to start building capacities in our institutions to help police cyberspace,” he said.

The CS singled out the abuse of technology in the country and called for concerted action against internet vigilantism noting this has become endemic during the election period.