Chaos and fraud part and parcel of Kenya’s political campaigns

Nyando MP Fred Outa (second right) flees after rowdy youths ejected him from a burial in Nyando,Kisumu County, on June 10. [Photo: Collins Oduor, Standard]

This week has been ablaze with the “usual” political intrigue, slurs and accusations that is a mainstay of election campaigning in Kenya.

Just within a week, ruling coalition Jubilee has called for the arrest of NASA candidate Raila Odinga for alleged hate speech and the Opposition coalition wants to move to court to block the printing of ballot boxes. There are accusations that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and/or the military is planning to rig the August poll, while internal supremacy wars in both the Jubilee and NASA camps are threatening to derail the respective campaign teams – all reported in the space of a few days.