UDA officials barred from holding polls at Kabarak University
UDA presiding officer Ben Kigen (left) and two clerks holding ballot boxes at a bus stage opposite Kabarak University on April 14, 2022 after they were denied entry into the institution to conduct primaries for Rongai Constituency.
The bitter political rivalry between Deputy President William Ruto and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi reared its ugly head when United Democratic Alliance (UDA) officials were Thursday denied access to Kabarak University where they were to conduct party nominations.
Interestingly, Kabarak University is a registered as polling station number 173 by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and it is where the late former president Daniel arap Moi used to vote in past general elections after he retired.
UDA officials were forced to stay outside the main entrance of the institution after the university’s management refused to allow them to use its facilities to conduct the primaries.
Stranded
The polling station has 662 registered voters and those who came to vote in the UDA polls were shocked to see the presiding officer, two clerks and agents of aspirants stranded outside the main entrance.
The UDA poll officials and agents were forced to take shelter at a bus stand as it was raining.
"We have been camping outside the gate of Kabarak University since 10am after we were denied access to the institution," said Mr Ben Kigen, the polling station’s presiding officer.
"I went personally to plead with the management to allow us in but while talking to a human resources officer, another university official came and said no UDA party primaries would be conducted at the institution," he added.
"The university management said they had firm instructions not to allow UDA primaries to be held at the institution," he added.
Learning still going on
But a university official said the UDA primaries could not be allowed to take place at the institution as learning was still going on.
"The primaries could not be held when learning is in session," said the official who declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak on behalf of the university.
Mr Kigen said he tried to reach out to UDA elections officials to plead with the university’s management to allow them to conduct the primaries but their efforts were futile.
"Some of the registered voters at the polling station are students and workers and it is not fair to deny them their democratic rights to vote," he said.
"I was ready to vote but when I came and found the officials sitting on ballot boxes I was shocked. These political differences between Senator Moi and DP Ruto should not interfere with our democratic rights to vote," said an angry student.
The aspirants' agents were forced to keep a close eye on the election materials to make sure they were not tampered with as they awaited directions from the party’s elections officials in the county.
"We cannot take any chance. We must stay here until the official time to close the station then we escort the voting materials to the main tallying centre at Kirobon High School," said one of the agents.
