Three presidential candidates yet to collect assigned security details

Alliance for Real Change presidential candidate Abduba Dida. (Photo: Edward Kiplimo, Standard)

Three presidential candidates are yet to claim the security details assigned to them by Police Headquarters.

Police now want the candidates, who have been cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), to take up the security offer, saying by not doing so they were jeopardising the entire electoral process.

The law requires the police to provide security for all presidential candidates. If anything fatal were to happen to one of the candidates, the entire election process would stall.

Article 138(8)(b) of the Constitution states: "A presidential election shall be cancelled and a new election held if a candidate for the election as President or Deputy President dies on or before the scheduled election date."

Eight candidates are in the race for president: Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee Party, Orange Democratic Movement's Raila Odinga, Cyrus Jirongo of United Democratic Party, Ekuru Aukot of Thirdway Alliance, Abduba Dida of the Alliance for Real Change and independent candidates Joseph Nyagah, Michael Wainaina and Japheth Kavinga.

Police Headquarters said it had tried to contact the three candidates in vain.

"One candidate said he is protected by God while the other two keep promising they would come," said an official aware of the arrangements.

All presidential candidates are supposed to receive a security briefing covering the period before and after the August 8 polls.