IEBC, DCI At Peace After Venezuelans, JKIA Saga
The two government agencies agreed to work together to ensure that the process during the August 9 general elections runs smoothly.
Marvin Chege 
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have peacefully resolved their issues that began following the arrest of three Venezuelans at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
DCI boss, George Kinoti, and IEBC chairman, Wafula Chebukati, met in a mediation meeting that was convened by the Inspector General of Police, Hillary Mutyambai.
The two government agencies agreed to work together to ensure that the process during the August 9 general elections runs smoothly.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss, George Kinoti. /FILE
Chebukati further assured that the issue surrounding the confiscated IEBC stickers was resolved as the two agencies further agreed to consult with each other.
"Following a successful consultative meeting, I wish to inform Kenyans that the issue on stickers has been resolved. 150,000 police officers will be deployed for the election and our respective agencies continue to work harmoniously," Chebukati announced.
"Going forward, we have committed to working together and if there is any issue, we shall discuss."
Chebukati also raised an alarm regarding people going round in a few areas and buying Identification Cards from voters registered to take part in the polls with the intention of ruining the election exercise.
"We have passed over that information to the Inspector General of Police and action will be taken on those individuals who are going round and buying IDs from Kenyans who are registered voters," he added, urging Kenyans not to sell their IDs as they will need them during the elections.
The resolution comes as the IEBC defended Smartmatic International Holdings which was caught in the middle of the saga, noting that the firm had entered a contract with the Commission on November 25, 2021, for the critical operations of the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS).
While giving a brief description of the firm founded in the United States (US) and headquartered in the United Kingdom (UK), IEBC argued that the firm has previously been contracted by several election commissions worldwide.
The firm beat others during a competitive bidding process and was awarded the contract, implemented at a cumulative cost of Ksh3.2 billion.
"One of the conditions in the tender document was that the bidder should provide a detailed support and maintenance plan and attach documentary proof of ICT technical support staff with a local registered office in Kenya. Smartmatic complied with this condition by providing a local partner in the country," Chebukati stated in part.
Chebukati further justified that before the firm was called upon, it was falling short of 4,000 KIEMS kits out of 45,000 in total.
From the 41,000 that were in good working condition, Smartmatic supplied 14,100 more KIEMS kits to the commission, bringing the total to 55,100 kits in good working condition, with their preparation and dispatch ongoing ahead of the August 9 general elections.
IEBC registration clerks at Madaraka primary school using the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS) kit. /STANDARD DIGITAL
