Three suspects arrested with marked election papers
National
By
Associated Press
| Aug 11, 2022
Three (3) Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officers have been arrested within Nairobi's Starehe area with both marked and unmarked ballot papers.
In a video seen by The Standard, a section of Azimio politicians are seen displaying the papers ranging from those for presidential to members of county assembly election.
Azimio leaders display marked voting materials. Three suspects have been arrested.#KenyaElections2022 pic.twitter.com/Vb6C2Y9IKd
- The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) August 11, 2022
Although the officers are currently being held at the Central Police Station, police are yet to issue a statement on the matter.
According to ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, the papers are estimated to be in the thousands.
In the video, Suna East MP-elect Junet Mohamed, Charity Ngilu, Rachel Shebesh and Joseph Kaloki are seen protesting, and the three handcuffed men are taken to task to explain why they were in possession of the papers.
Confirming the arrest, Junet said the discovery of the ballot papers was the tip of an iceberg and claimed that it was an indicator of an alleged scheme to rig the August 9 polls.
"The papers that have been brought here are for the presidential, gubernatorial, senatorial, parliamentary and MCA elections in Starehe. This dents the credibility of this election," said Junet.
Junet called on the IBC to set the record straight about the alleged ballot stuffing scheme and assure the country of the polls' credibility.
"How did this person(s) access the ballot papers? This must be happening in all parts of the country. If somebody could access ballot papers in Nairobi, what of in the rural areas where there is no proper security and surveillance? We want IEBC to come out clearly on this matter," said Junet.
Sentiments echoed by Shebesh, the Youth and Gender Affairs Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS), who demanded action against police officers and IEBC officials she claimed were colluding to rig the polls.
"We called the police informing them that we were worried about officers who seem to be compromised. What is happening now is not that we did not follow the procedure laid out by IEBC. Unfortunately, even after giving them that indication, it has taken our supporters to find these materials and force the arrest of the suspects," said Shebesh.