Foreigners have already achieved instant celebrity status in Kenya, but not in nearly the same way as Jose Camargo did on Friday as a result of the Supreme Court hearings.
In a matter of hours, he rose to the top of Kenyan Twitter’s hot topics, had his name printed on at least one T-shirt, and had his face electronically recreated and used in memes.
If it had been Jose Mourinho, it would have made sense given that the well-known football coach refers to himself as “The Special One” and is known for loving the extraordinary.
But no, it was Jose Gregorio Camargo Castellano, a 32-year-old Venezuelan who was arrested alongside two other people in Nairobi in July, according to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), whose laptop was found to contain crucial information on the elections on August 9.
His rapid notoriety, however, had nothing to do with the arrest. It was due to the fact that his name was displayed on an election results form with allegedly dubious details to an attentive nation and a mute courtroom. Mr. Camargo was referenced in court by attorneys Paul Mwangi, Julie Soweto, and Willis Otieno who were arguing on behalf of parties seeking to overturn the election results announced on August 15.
Mr. Jose Camargo
Ms. Soweto informed the court that this was evidence of tampering that had been left behind “by God’s grace” as she projected a form from the Gacharaigu Primary School polling station 2 in Kangema in Murang’a County that had been photographed with the name “Jose Camargo” appearing on the top left corner.
According to Raila, Venezuelans were employed to rig the election.
We didn’t invent this, We were accused of forging these papers. My Lord, this is how the staging was taking place. This is how the alterations were taking place, Ms. Soweto said to the courtroom’s eerie hush.
“This is the individual who chose the nation’s next president. It is online and available on the IEBC portal, she said.
More theatrical was Mr. Otieno. He questioned why Mr. Camargo’s name appeared on a form taken on election day, building on earlier testimony by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that all foreigners who were setting up its systems were shut out before the August 9 poll.
It’s like a plumber maintaining the system, according to my knowledgeable friend (IEBC lawyer Mahat) Somane. Having said that, a plumber has no business being in your bathroom when you are taking a shower after they have fixed it. If you come across him at that moment, tell him, “Get behind me, Satan,” as Jesus did when the devil entered Peter in Mark 8:33 of the Bible.
