Kenya Opposition Wants Safaricom Staff Prosecuted, Nation Says

(Bloomberg) -- Kenya's opposition National Super Alliance asked the state prosecutor to charge six employees of Safaricom Ltd. and the chief agent of the ruling Jubilee Party for allegedly interfering with the results-transmission system in August's botched presidential election, the Daily Nation reported.

The alliance gave the prosecutor 72 hours to press charges against the individuals, the Nairobi-based newspaper said, citing the group's lawyer, Antony Oluoch. The paper didn't say what steps the opposition will take if a case isn't filed.

Safaricom, whose network was used to transmit some of the results in the annulled Aug. 8 presidential elections, referred requests for comment to a Sept. 26 statement. In the statement, the company said it discharged its contractual obligations to the Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission in accordance with its agreement and the law. It also criticized the opposition group for mentioning “innocent Safaricom staff members.”

Two calls to Jubilee Party Chairman Raphael Tuju's mobile phone weren't answered when comment was sought about the opposition allegations against its chief election agent, Davis Chirchir. Government spokesman Eric Kiraithe didn't answer his mobile phone when called for comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Ombok in Nairobi at eombok@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Kingdon at ckingdon@bloomberg.net, Paul Richardson, Helen Nyambura