The 2017 elections seem along time ago thanks to the famous handshake between Raila Odinga and his brother Uhuru Kenyatta, which in some way cooled the political temperatures and set the stage for what looks like a political merger between two antagonists.
Even though Kenyans are quick to forget, some people will take time to heal from the scars of the aftermath of the bungled elections that saw Chief Justice David Maraga nullify the Presidential results.
The campaigns was marred by misinformation, with fake news spread across the country via the internet and on smartphones. Raila was smeared with a series of viral videos, including one notoriously depicting apocalyptic scenes if he were to emerge victorious.
At the centre of the fake news was a British firm called Cambridge Analytica which has been accused by Raila himself of bungling the elections.
Even though the firm has denied these allegations, a high ranking British Politician has now admitted to playing a huge role in the Kenyan elections while working for Cambridge Analytica. Brexit Party MEP Alexandra Phillips made the admission to the UK’s Channel 4 News.
Philips revealed that she was part of a secret team brought in to ensure President Uhuru Kenyatta retained power.
I wasn’t working for Jubilee I was employed by Cambridge Analytica who had the contract with Jubilee.“I was brought on as a political communications consultant for the Kenya project.” She said.
“I’d be writing the president’s speeches and his talking points for rallies and State House statements. I trained their communications team; they’re all sort of journalists who came together to create a press office. So I had to train them up and daily management of that communications team.”
UK Brexit Party member of the European Parliament Alexandra Philips has now admitted to have worked for Cambridge Analytica as part of a secret team that was deployed to help President Uhuru Kenyatta retain power during the 2017 election campaign. #NTVTonight pic.twitter.com/zNGj3vzeKq
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) July 16, 2019
She said the work was so sensitive that she was told “if anyone asks” what she was doing in the country, she must tell them she was working as “an air hostess”.
In the interview, Ms Phillips also claimed the contract was worth £300,000 [GBP] a month, and would add up to a total of around $6 (Ksh 600 million) for the contract.
Now who will pay someone Ksh 600 million just to write speeches? There is no doubt that Phillips did a lot more, especially a smear campaign against the opposition
Cambridge Analytica was exposed by Channel 4 News last year in an undercover investigation which company bosses were filmed boasting of dirty tricks and influencing elections across the world.
They were caught bragging about smear campaigns, bribing politicians, and putting “unattributable, untrackable” propaganda on the Internet in a bid to sway campaigns for clients.
But what are Kenyans now saying after Phillip’s admission?
Kisumu East Member of Parliament Shakeel Shabir who was speaking to Citizen TV on Wednesday says there is no doubt that Cambridge Analytica played a part in the 2017 elections. The MP says that Kenyans have to establish for whom and for what purpose the same company was involved in Brexit and the USA elections.
Shakeel Shabir: There is no doubt that Cambridge Analytica played a part in the 2017 elections; we have to establish for whom and for what purpose
The same company was involved in Brexit & the USA elections; I am convinced they played a role in our politics #DayBreak pic.twitter.com/antSdXiKCR
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) July 17, 2019
Kenyans are now waiting to see how the expose will affect the relationship between Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila especially as the country gears up to the 2022 elections.