Bob Collymore: Safaricom is ready to be investigated over rigging claims

Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore

Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said the telecommunication firm will not be intimidated into withdrawing its services for the October 26 presidential election.  

Bob Collymore also welcomed investigations following allegations by National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga linking Safaricom to August 8 election rigging. 

"We are ready to be investigated by any agency," said the CEO in a statement released on Wednesday.

Raila Odinga said that Safaricom was contracted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to transmit election results from the polling stations to a server in France instead of transmitting them to Kenya Integrated Electoral Management Systems (KIEMS) kits.

"It is a matter of public record that Safaricom was contracted by IEBC to transmit election results from the Kenya Integrated Election Management (Kiems) kits at polling stations to the IEBC servers," alleged Raila.

The Safaricom boss said it was unfortunate that his staff was falsely accused and put at risk by the allegations. He added that he will hold people personally responsible if any of the staff or their families is harmed.