IEBC Materials Destroyed In Tharaka Nithi On Elections Eve

The angry crowd had moved to destroy the materials and rip them apart

Marvin Chege Marvin Chege
Aug 8, 2022 - 11:01 Updated: Aug 8, 2022 - 11:21
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IEBC Materials Destroyed In Tharaka Nithi On Elections Eve
IEBC materials in Chuka/Igambang'ombe destroyed by public members on Monday, August 8, 2022. /FACEBOOK

Election materials destined for the Tharaka Nithi Tallying Centre belonging to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) were on Monday, August 8, destroyed.

Members of the public had pounced on the materials after they complained after noticing that some of the materials were marked as belonging to the Fifa constituency, located in Garissa County.

The angry crowd had moved to destroy the materials and rip them apart, with photos seen by Viral Tea showing police officers standing close to the materials.

IEBC materials in Chuka/Igambang'ombe destroyed by public members on Monday, August 8, 2022. /FACEBOOK

The regional IEBC officer noted that the materials intercepted were headed for the tallying centre in Igambang'ombe Sub-county from Chuka sub-county for distribution to the polling stations.

"The materials that were intercepted are ones which were in deficit which we had requested from Nairobi. They had arrived this morning and were headed to Tharaka centre from where the returning and presiding officers would transfer them to the polling stations," the IEBC official explained. 

The incident comes merely hours before Kenyans queue to vote in the August 9 general elections.

Already, the IEBC has suspended elections in five wards after MCAs who were cleared to vie for their seats died.

They include Mumias North Ward (Kakamega), South Gem Ward (Siaya), Kyome/Thaana Ward (Kitui), Oloimasani Ward (Narok) and Utawala Ward (Nairobi), with their polls set to be announced at a later date.

Voters in the affected areas will therefore go into the elections expecting to vote for five candidates instead of six, as stipulated by electoral laws regarding the death of a fully cleared candidate.

South Gem candidate Maurice Nick Otieno Wanga died as he underwent treatment at a Kisumu hospital while Abdalla Kweyu, the Mumias North candidate died from a road accident.

“IEBC suspends the election for the elective positions stated in the seventh column of the owing to the death of candidates and shall communicate via a Gazette Notice when the said elections will be conducted,” read the gazette notice by the IEBC.

A Kenyan casting their vote in the 2017 general elections. /FILE

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