Nairobi ODM senatorial candidate Edwin Sifuna at Ghetto Radio studios. [Photo: Edwin Sifuna/Facebook Page]
The National Super Alliance (NASA) youth leaders have claimed that the government wants to use public universities to rig the forthcoming August 8 general election.
Speaking during a press conference at the Orange House, the leaders led by Edwin Sifuna, Nairobi ODM senatorial candidate, alleged there are plans to close public universities to aid in the rigging of next month's polls.
"Jubilee administration wants to prolong the ongoing lecturers' strike to get an excuse to send university students home. Once the students are away, the university facilities will become available for various rigging schemes like the ones we saw at Kenyatta University (KU) in 2013 elections," said Sifuna.
The politician was referring to an incident in KU when the students discovered unused election materials in one of the halls in the institution just a few days after the polls.
The students went on the rampage from the suspicion that the materials were used to rig the election that President Uhuru Kenyatta defeated CORD leader Raila Odinga.
However, the university administration and the police pointed out that institution was among IEBC's tallying centers, dispelling the rigging claims.
Speaking at the same event at the Orange House, Student Organisation University of Nairobi (SONU) spokesman Ronny Mamba said students will resist all plans by the government to manipulate the polls.
"We are aware of some National Intelligence Service officials who are posing as watchmen in our universities with ulterior motives. We are aware of the government's ploy to send students home to rig elections," Mamba said as quoted by the Star.