The Raila Odinga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has asked President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party to “come clean” on the role British data mining firm Cambridge Analytica played in its campaigns.
In a statement by secretary-general Edwin Sifuna, ODM said Jubilee should, in the spirit of dialogue and following the historic reconciliation between Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga, say what exactly the firm did for them in the 2017 elections. “messaging and propaganda, sacrificing facts in order to drive emotions.”
RIFTS
“We want our Jubilee counterparts to come clean on the role Cambridge Analytica played in their campaigns so that we can openly deal with the rifts created by these political mercenaries on the fabric of Kenyan society,” Mr Sifuna said in the statement.
To avoid such cases, Mr Sifuna proposes, foreign firms’ involvement in future Kenyan polls should be banned through legislation.
ODM, Mr Sifuna said, was “extremely concerned” about the British firm’s involvement following an expose by Channel 4 News TV that captured the firm’s officials bragging for having “fixed” the Kenyan election in favour of President Kenyatta.
“We saw very distasteful propaganda and fear-mongering directed at stoking ethnic animosity against Mr Odinga during the campaigns, a dangerous adventure given existing ethnic fissures in Kenya,” Mr Sifuna said.