Former Azimio Volunteers board member Ronny Raburu has provided a detailed account of alleged challenges faced by the coalition during the August 2022 general elections, claiming there were no Azimio presidential agents present at polling stations across Central Kenya just days before voting.
Raburu, who served under chair Beulah Juma and vice-chair Cliff Mboya, said the volunteers’ operations were coordinated from Mboya’s office on Kabarnet Road.
The board included notable figures such as Advocate Julie Nabwera, Loise Karua, Jimmy Kairu, Advocate Merab Dinah Ochieng, Lillian Marenya, and Bildad Owuor.
According to Raburu, the board had devised a contingency plan to deploy volunteers nationwide in case of agent shortfalls.
However, during a final agents’ training at the Kenya School of Law in Karen, the team discovered that no agents had been briefed by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in Central Province.
“We sensed trouble immediately and rushed back to Kabarnet Road to report to Baba [Raila Odinga] personally,” Raburu wrote in a social media post.
He added that he, along with Nabwera and Beulah, met Raila Odinga at his Karen residence to outline the issue.
Present at the meeting were family members, Junet Mohammed, and two bishops.
Raburu described subsequent attempts to escalate the matter, including contacting Junet Mohammed and arranging a breakfast meeting with Professor Isiah Kindiki, the then-presidential returning officer for Raila Odinga.
Despite these efforts, Raburu claimed Junet never followed up on promised assistance.
The statement provides an insider perspective on the logistical challenges faced by Azimio Volunteers during the 2022 elections.