IEBC official's leg amputated after he was shot three times

Mohameed Kanyare recuperating at the Wajir County Referral Hospital. [Mate Tongola, Standard]

An IEBC official is recuperating in hospital after he was shot three times in the right leg on Thursday, August 11 in Wajir County.

Mohameed Kanyare, 32, served as the presiding officer of Towheed polling station at Elnur Tula Tula Ward in Eldas Constituency during the August 9, 2022 General Election.

Kanyare said he was shot by a person "who was in police uniform".

"It was at night, when he shot me outside the Eldas CDF offices," Kanyare told The Standard.

"I had just arrived at the CDF centre, when a commotion ensued. I had gone to submit the election results at the constituency tallying centre. All of a sudden, there was noise from all corners and police officers manning the centre ordered us to lie down, which we did. Thereafter, the lights were switched off."

Kanyare says he doesn't know why he was shot yet he obeyed the orders.

"I was shot thrice in the right leg and taken to Wajir County Referral Hospital after relative calm resumed," he said.

According to the victim, doctors recommended that his leg be amputated because it couldn't be salvaged.

It remains unclear why the chaos erupted, though there are reports suggesting that some people felt aggrieved after missing out on IEBC election jobs.

Other reports suggest the commotion was meant to disrupt the tallying process after certain politicians sensed defeat.

"Elections shouldn't be a matter of life and death, and the earlier politicians know that, the better," said Kanyare.

The vote-tallying, which ended prematurely at the CDF offices, was consequently moved to the safer Wajir Town.

Confirming the incident, Wajir County Police Commander Hillary Torotich said investigations into the shooting are underway.

"The incident occurred at 10pm on August 11. However, we can't say with authority that the IEBC official was shot by a police officer. It's a possibility that he was shot by armed attackers who had stormed the tallying centre," Torotich told The Standard.

The incumbent Eldas MP, Adan Keynan of Jubilee Party, was declared the winner of the parliamentary election. He defeated ODM's Adan Boray, who got 6,838 votes against Keynan's 7,517.