The three Venezuelans behind the importation of election stickers are expected to appear before the DCI Tuesday for the second time.
This was after they were arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport while importing Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission stickers.
Jose Comargo Gregorio, Joel Gustavo Rodriguez Garcia and Salvador Javier Sosa Suarez were arrested Thursday and grilled before being released for further grilling.
This is after the police confiscated their traveling documents.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati protested the move to direct the three to appear before the DCI, saying it would inconvenience them in their work.
“Whereas the impression created by the press release is that the personnel have been released, their release was conditional as they have to appear before the OCS Anti-Terrorism Police Unit on 26th July 2022 which inevitably affects the performance of their duties,” he said.
Police were also holding the stickers which Chebukati argued is affecting them as they cannot seamlessly prepare for the elections.
He added police confiscated all electronic items including mobile phones, laptops and flash disks in the custody of the said personnel.
He noted that the electronic items contain important and sensitive information relating to the forthcoming elections as well as projects undertaken by them for other countries.
“The said personnel were compelled to give passwords to the confiscated phones and gadgets resulting in a violation of their right to privacy.”
Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti denied the claims the three were compelled to give the passwords.
Police later raided an apartment the men stayed along Riverside Drive and carried away some personal equipment.
Gregorio had arrived at JKIA Thursday morning with four huge bags and when he was asked what he was carrying, he could not respond coherently which prompted action from officials there.
He then told officials he came from Panama through Istanbul and then landed at JKIA aboard a Turkish airline.
The officials opened the bags and realized they were IEBC tags for various constituencies.
There were 10,000 of them, officials said which shocked them given the electoral season and the fact that there was no one to receive him.
He then produced a letter written by iHit Offices to the officials at the airport who process visas.
The CEO of Seamless Limited Abdulahi Abdi Mohamed signed the letter, saying they are local partners of Smartmatic International Holding B.V in Kenya and had invited Camargo whose passport expires on March 9, 2023, to Nairobi from July 20, 2022, to September 8, 2022, for work-related activities.
The passport had expired in 2020 but had an extension stamp inside.
“The person shall be in Nairobi to implement a project for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission critical to the August 2022 elections,” read part of the letter.
“He shall be arriving in Kenya during the project implementation period and as such shall require a six months single entry business Visa.”
They were granted three months visa in Kenya.
The letter added Seamless Limited will guarantee all travel and other support expenses.
It was as he was being interrogated by police at the airport that the other two Venezuelans arrived there saying he was their colleague.
The two had arrived on July 4 with similar stickers for various constituencies and managed to pass through security checks undetected.
IEBC CEO Hussein Marjan arrived there and told authorities that the three personnel were in the country to execute a lawful contract relating to the deployment of technology in elections.
The IEBC tags were hidden in traveling bags.
They were covered in blankets when officials detected them.
Police wanted to understand why he was carrying the materials and who gave them to him.
Kinoti said upon investigations, police established that the suspects' contracts did not explicitly state they were employees of IEBC or the IT firm contracted to deliver poll materials.
“Camargo confessed that he was given the materials from Panama by his company M/S Smartmatic International Holding B.V and that the material was destined for a private office in Nairobi.”
“From the aforesaid invitation letters, it is clear that the three foreigners were in Kenya solely for business with Abdulahi Abdi Mohamed, applying for his personnel who he had contracted to come to his office in Nairobi for work-related activities. It is also clear that the said Camargo and his two counterparts were to report to Mohamed's office at Nairobi and not at IEBC offices,” he said.
Kinoti said the officers confiscated the bag containing 17 rolls of stickers targeted to serve various at least 10,000 polling stations in 10 counties.
They are Nairobi, Kiambu, Nakuru, Meru, Machakos, Murang'a, Bomet, Nyeri, Tharaka Nithi, Nyandarua and Kericho.
In a separate bag, Carmago was also found in possession of a personal laptop, a personal monitor, five flash discs, one mobile phone and assorted personal computer accessories.
“Consequently, all the suspicious material carried by the suspect belonged to Abdulahi Abdi Mohamed but not IEBC... To date, the 17 rolls previously smuggled in remain unaccounted for unless Chebukati confirms to Kenyans of their existence since he has not complained about them,” he said.
The issue has triggered varied reactions from various quarters.
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