IEBC Chairman Isaack Hassan met Cord leader Raila Odinga on three different occasions after the last general election to apologise over alleged ‘perennial loser’ remarks, a commissioner has revealed.
Vice-chair Lillian Mahiri-Zaja revealed that the three meetings were attempts by Hassan to clear the air on claims that he had described Raila as a perennial loser in all elections and that it was difficult for him to accept defeat.
“It should be known that it was not Hassan who described Odinga as a perennial loser but his lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi who is abrasive and made many remarks which were not kind to the Cord leader,” said Mahiri-Zaja.
Speaking in Kisumu during a consultative forum between IEBC, United Development Programme (UNDP) and the media, Mahiri-Zaja added that Hassan had to swear an affidavit to respond to the petition in his personal capacity.
She added that the perception of the opposition leader and his supporters was really damaging the reputation of the commission and that all of the commissioners were now being viewed as sharing the same perception Hassan’s lawyer had.
The 2013 dismissal of Odinga’s petition against President Uhuru Kenyatta did not go down well with some politicians and that has apparently brewed bad blood between the commission and the opposition, with the Cord leader also being accused of having a certain perception towards the electoral commission.