Former IEBC chairman Isaack Hassan has narrated how he met President Mwai Kibaki after several attempts on his life months before the 2013 general elections.
The two presidential contenders in 2013 were Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga.
Raila led the CORD coalition alongside then Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka while Uhuru took charge of the Jubilee coalition with William Ruto, now president, deputising him.
Hassan, who retired in 2016, says he had encountered over four attempts on his life that made him walk straight to the president’s office to have a talk with him
In his memoir, Referee of a dirty ugly game, Hassan recounted how armed men drilled a hole in his neighbour’s compound in a bid to know where he and his family were staying months before the general election.
Hassan says during Ramadan celebrations, the armed men dug a hole through the back of her neighbours perimeter wall.
“They took time ransacking her home, collecting valuables and money. They even had time to eat some food they found. They asked her where I lived, and she responded that she was not sure, but it was within the neighbourhood. My family and I were all at home under guard. But we were not aware of the incident,” he says.
Hassan said the lady was not harmed but noted that she could not raise alarm until the armed men left.
“She later claimed that the armed men were really after me and she only became the unfortunate victim because her house was next to mine,” he said.
“This made me cautious about my own safety and that of my household. I reported the incident to the security team, which assessed the scene and recommended extra surveillance and measures.”
The former chair said some measures included putting up a guard room within his own compound for any eventualities
Within that same period, some seven men wielding AK-47 guns attacked the neighbourhood where he was living.
“They tried to forcefully gain access to the estate and in the process hurt one of the guards at the main gate, “ he said.
But Hassan said the attackers were unsuccessful in their mission which was to either kill him or abduct him in the process.
“I called my bodyguard, Nicholas Maritim, who was also the head of my security team, to inform him about the incident the same night. This was because I always released him every evening as I would then be under the security of the guards at my house for the night, and he would report for duty the following morning,” he said.
According to Hassan, Maritim called a colleague to accompany him to his house.
“The two drove to my place in Toyota Corolla, and searched the area,” he said.
Hassan said the two drove to his place in a Toyota Corolla and searched the area.
But he noted that there was confusion on who the enemy was.
“As my bodyguards left home at around 2 am, it seemed there had not been any contact between them and police officers who had come on patrol. The two guards were then ordered to stop when they got into the driveway. But they did not stop,’ he says.
“Neither of the teams was aware they were all security officers. So they began to suspect each other.”
Hassan’s bodyguard and his colleague sped off towards the nearest gas station assuming they were under attack by criminals.
“No one was hurt. They discovered upon getting to the gas station that eight bullets had been fired at the Toyota by the police officers on patrol,” he said.