Rights group condemns arrest of election observer in Ol Kalou vote

'Niko Kadi' movement mobiliser Allans Ademba. [Courtesy]

Human rights group Defenders Coalition has condemned the arrest of election observer and activist Allans Ademba during the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election in Nyandarua County.

Ademba, who mobilises the youth-led "Tuko Kadi" voter registration campaign, was arrested on Thursday morning outside AC Comprehensive School polling station and taken to offices of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Ol Kalou.

The coalition accused authorities of targeting independent election observers during the exercise.

"Allans was arrested today at around 9 a.m. at the AC Comprehensive School Polling Station while lawfully conducting observation of the ongoing Ol Kalou by-elections.

He is currently being held at the Ol Kalou Police Station/DCI with no formal processing or clear legal basis for his arrest," noted the coalition in a statement.

The group called for his immediate and unconditional release.

Ademba later confirmed the arrest on social media.

"I've been arrested. Niko Ol Kalou DCI," Ademba posted on his X account.

Authorities had not confirmed the arrest or disclosed the circumstances surrounding his detention by the time of publication.

Before his arrest, Ademba had shared updates from polling stations in Ol Kalou, including claims that some officials were preventing newly registered voters from casting ballots while allowing only voters who participated in the 2022 General Election to vote.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had not responded to the allegations by the time of publication.

The government deployed more than 1,000 police officers across the constituency for the by-election, which followed the death of former Ol Kalou MP David Njuguna.

Nine candidates are contesting the seat, with United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Samuel Muchina Nyagah and Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) candidate Sammy Kamau Ngotho emerging as the leading contenders.

Voting started at 6 a.m. and is expected to close at 5 p.m. before counting begins.

Ol Kalou constituency has 73,480 registered voters and 144 polling stations spread across five wards.