Elaborate plot Paper trail could prove allegations

The nature of the alleged plot to rig Kenya’s election is so extraordinarily elaborate as to invite disbelief: a senior election official is murdered days before the vote, his password – extracted under torture – used by hackers to access the electronic tabulation system to hand the president an undeserved victory.

There are unanswered questions. If there was no plot to rig the election, why was Chris Msando, the man charged with protecting the vote’s electronic integrity, murdered?

Why were four foreign experts hired by the opposition to monitor fraud deported? And why was a parallel-tallying centre set up by Mr Odinga’s coalition raided by masked gunmen on the same day?

We may never find out the answers, but establishing whether Kenya’s election has been hacked should be easier.

At every polling station and in every constituency, returning officers filled in forms indicating the results of the local vote. These were witnessed by agents for both candidates, who were also given a copy.

In other words, there is a substantial paper trail and Mr Odinga can prove his claims by releasing his campaign’s copies of the forms to see if they match with the results released centrally by the electoral commission.