Newton Babior: Author of book on 'polls rigging' is missing

The whereabouts of the author of a book that alleges that all elections after former President Daniel arap Moi’s regime were rigged through the use of State machinery has gone missing.

Mr Newton Babior disappeared on June 27, the day he was scheduled to officially launch The Raila Conspiracy at the KICC amphitheatre.

Sources close to Mr Babior say his phone had since gone off and the matter was reported at Ruaraka Police Station.

“The launch was scheduled to happen that day but the guy just went missing in action and we cannot reach him since then,” Mr Vincent Adede, the manager of Booksaves, said.

BOOK LAUNCH

Announcing the development on social media, Mr Reuben Gitahi said the launch did not take off.

The event was to be presided over by Nasa presidential flagbearer Raila Odinga and attended by the Kenya School of Law CEO, Prof PLO Lumumba, publishing editor Barrack Muluka and University of Nairobi don and political analyst Herman Manyora.

At 10am on the day he went missing, Mr Babior had posted a message on his Facebook page asking Kenyans to attend the book launch.

“Don’t idolise this kind of misleading idiot. Come to the launch. Get a copy of the book. Read it and make an independent opinion,” Mr Babior said in response to political commentator David Matsanga’s post, which alleged that the book had “killed” the world and Kenya in particular.

“I don’t lie, put forward facts that explain my mode of operation before I release the names of those who were hanged on the evidence of Raila Odinga and whom Odinga has never honoured ...since 1982,” Mr Matsanga had said.

SHABAAB MEDDLING

Mr Babior’s disappearance was recorded under OB number 18/3/7/17 Monday.

Earlier, Mr Babior’s friends, relatives and other authors had raised their concerns on social media about the whereabouts of the youthful writer of the political biography titled The Living Legend.

The Raila Conspiracy warns, among other things, that the statements made earlier by ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru that Al-Shabaab can interfere with the digital system of elections was a disclosure that there were plans to rig the August 8 General Election.

It alleges that the 2002 General Election, in which retired President Mwai Kibaki was contesting against Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, now the President, was the only free and fair election ever held in Kenya.

POLICE UNAWARE

Three weeks ago, the writer told the media that there was a conspiracy by the government machinery to block the sale of the book in Kenya before August 8.

He had said that the book, which was published by Magadashan Printers in India, was printed for the better part of April 2017 but the shipment was seized at the Mombasa port.

On Monday, Nairobi County Police Commander Japheth Koome declined to comment on the disappearance.

“I have been called by other media houses, too, concerning the same issue but I am not aware of it,” Mr Koome said.