Raila Opens Up On His Relationship with Former IEBC Commissioner Roselyn Akombe

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has described former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioner Dr Roselyn Akombe as a heroine, adding that she is a “brave, bright woman who outsmarted government mercenaries that were out to finish her”.

Speaking during a rally in Keroka, Kisii county on Monday, the former Prime Minister claimed that state officers had threatened Akombe and her family.

He said that the former commissioner used a calculated move to flee to the US to announce her exit from the electoral commission. “Her plan was very well calculated and she moved her family and luggage ahead of the Dubai trip while tricking the rest of the IEBC commissioners that she would join them only to land in New York,” Raila said.

The Nasa leader confessed he was in constant communication with Akombe and that he called her when she was pulled out of a US-bound plane and temporarily detained at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) moments after the August 8th election.

“We talked and she told me that they had tried to strip her naked as they searched for any possible evidence and secrets of the annulled Presidential poll,” Odinga said.

Raila sensationally claimed that the harassment of Akombe at JKIA was part of a plan to eliminate her. He also revealed that state officials attempted to undress her on that day.

“She finally beat them in their own game when she landed in New York,” he said.

Raila added that, just like slain IEBC ICT director Chris Msando, police gave a deaf ear to threats on Akombe’s life.

Akombe announced her exit from the commission last Wednesday citing numerous reasons among them threats on her life.