The main political formations yesterday jumped into the arrest of a Venezuelan national at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) as the electoral agency, facing many unanswered questions over the incident, refused to respond to media queries.
The incident was a major talking point for politicians allied to Azimio and Kenya Kwanza, with the former castigating the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as the latter defended it. In the process, IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati found himself caught up in the political battles between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga on the one hand, and Deputy President William Ruto and his brigade on the other.
Yet, almost becoming the norm, the IEBC did not respond to enquiries seeking clarification on the incident as accusations of the opacity of its preparations for the upcoming polls raise concern just over two weeks to the August 9 General Election.
By the time of going to press, the IEBC had not responded to specific questions sent to them. Instead, the agency, late last evening, issued a statement accusing the police of lying. Mr Chebukati said that contrary to police statement that only one person had been arrested, the security officers also arrested two other individuals who had been working for the commission and had gone to check on their colleague. He said their release was conditional as they will have to appear before the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit on Tuesday.
“The National Police Service (NPS) informed the public that the stickers had been released to the commission, yet the said stickers have, in fact, been confiscated and retained by the OCS, Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, with the implication that the commission is now not able to seamlessly prepare for the elections,” he said.
“The NPS has, most importantly, confiscated all electronic items, including mobile phones, laptops and flash disks in the custody of the said personnel, which items contain important and sensitive information relating to the forthcoming elections, as well as projects undertaken by them for other countries. The personnel were compelled to give passwords to the confiscated phones and gadgets, resulting in a violation of their right to privacy.”
On Thursday, the IEBC had accused the police of arbitrary arrest and harassment of its election technology staff. “The three, who are employees of Smartmatic International BV, were arrested upon arrival at JKIA from Venezuela,” Mr Chebukati said, without explaining why the foreigner was carrying the election materials in his private luggage, or why the police had not been notified of such consignment.
Earlier, police had announced that the Venezuelan national, Comarco Gregoria, was released after they established that the stickers belonged to the IEBC.
But the police also expressed disappointment with the electoral agency over the opaqueness and casual manner in which the stickers were brought into the country. Spokesperson Bruno Shioso said: “The police, as per standard procedure and arrangement with the IEBC, were not notified of such imports beforehand to provide necessary security and escort.”
Saturday Nation established that the NPS had been informed at the last minute of the arrival of the first batch of ballot papers at JKIA. “The arrest, impounding and subsequent investigations into the material were necessitated by the sensitivity of election materials and further by facts requiring due diligence,” said the police spokesman.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka , who is allied to Azimio, termed the incident a red flag of a possible election rigging plan. Speaking during the elevation of Kitengela town to a municipality yesterday, the former Vice President expressed worry that having such materials in individuals’ custody portends the possibility of rogue people disguising as IEBC officers and running parallel polling stations. “We fear that such a move can be used for votes stuffing on August 9.”
But while campaigning in Kilifi and Mombasa counties, DP Ruto came to the defence of the IEBC, alleging that the arrest was part of an attempt by Azimio to scuttle the August 9 election. “They started by making demands regarding the use of manual registers. Now they have gone to the extent of threatening IEBC staff and arresting them. We will not allow you to harass the agency’s staff and we ask the police not to be used in such political machinations,” the DP said in Kilifi.
In Nairobi, Mr Ruto’s allies accused the police and other state agencies of intimidating and blackmailing poll officials.
The alliance alleged that the arrest and subsequent detention of the Venezuelan was part of the state’s larger scheme to infiltrate the operations of the IEBC to rig the presidential election in favour of Mr Odinga. ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi claimed Mr Kenyatta is desperate to extend his tenure through his “stooge”.
He sensationally used the incident to revoke the killing of Chris Msando, the electoral commission’s ICT boss in the run-up to the 2017 polls.
By Vincent Achuka, Walter Menya, Moses Nyamori, Maureen Ongala, Wachira Mwangi and Stanley Ngotho
