Two out of the three Venezuelans arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) were travelling on expired passports, crime boss George Kinoti has said, in what seems to be an escalated war with the electoral commission.
Kinoti, who has since accused the three of having sneaked election material into the country since they are not officials of the IT firm contracted by IEBC, claimed travel documents of Joel Gustavo Rodriguez and Camargo Castellanos Jose Gregorio had expired at least two years prior to their travel to Kenya.
“It was established that Joel Gustavo Rodriguez and Camargo Castellanos Jose Gregorio had travelled using expired passports from their mother country of Venezuela. Jose Gregorio Camargo Castellanos passport expired on February 11, 2020. Joel Gustavo Rodriguez Garciapassport expired on November 13, 2019,” he said.
In a statement dated July 23, 2022, Kinoti also said the contracts of the Venezuelan nationals did not explicitly state they were employees of IEBC or the IT firm contracted to deliver poll materials, as alleged by IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati.
DCI boss also said the suspect did not have direct contact with the IEBC despite having carried crucial poll materials.
"Since IEBC had contracted Smartmatic International Holding B.V to deliver materials directly, then the suspect should have been in direct contact with the IEBC and deliver the materials direct, under Smartmatic International Holding B.V, which has an express contract with IEBC," he said.
But Chebukati has maintained that the trio was sent by Smartmatic International Holding B.V, an IT firm contracted by the commission to deploy technology in the upcoming polls.
He has condemned their arrest of the three and said the holding of crucial materials by police would affect the commission's operations ahead of the polls.
