Mixed bag as Kenyans go to the polls

Tuesday’s general election was marked by drama, hitches, confusion and light moments in some polling stations as the voting went smoothly in many areas.

Police made several arrests following violence and electoral malpractices in some polling stations.

Kiems kits failed in a number of polling stations across the country, while voting was delayed in many areas, forcing some stations to stay open past the scheduled time to compensate for time lost. 

In the Rift Valley, Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria was arrested after he allegedly assaulted a voter at a polling station in his constituency.

Nakuru county police commander Peter Mwanzo said the MP was arrested at Naka Primary School polling station following a commotion.

“There are claims he injured a voter and caused commotion and disturbance at the polling station,” Mwanzo said.

In Rarieda, one man was critically injured after he was allegedly clobbered by supporters of a rival candidate.

Oluoch Bunde, a bodyguard of  UDM candidate for Rarieda parliamentary seat Neto Adhola, was taken to Lwak Mission Hospital after he was attacked at Ruma polling station in North Uyoma.

Adhola was forced to shoot in the air to disperse irate youths who had descended on them.

Police in Teso North, Busia county, arrested five people, whom residents accused of planning to bribe voters.

The five were a woman and four men. One of the men, who brandished a pistol threatening to shoot civilians, was beaten and the gun confiscated from him.

Residents told the Star the five were supporters of one of the MP candidates in Teso North.

In Machakos, police are holding a polling clerk over alleged electoral malpractice.

County police commander Issa Mohammud said the clerk was arrested for issuing more polling papers to a voter at the Kyumbi polling station in Mavoko constituency.

"The clerk issued eight ballot papers instead of six," Mohammud said.

Meanwhile, four people were injured and are in critical condition at the Bungoma County Referral Hospital.

This is after Bumula parliamentary candidates Jack Wamboka of DAP-K and Mwambu Mabanga of UDA clashed at night.

It is alleged that Mabanga opened fired at Wamboka's car in the clash.

In Kitui, there was confusion after Governor Charity Ngilu's name appeared on the ballot papers for the governor position despite her having withdrawn from the race.

IEBC Kitui county returning officer Macharia Gichichi said the presence of Ngilu's name in the candidate's list was null and void since she had written to the commission withdrawing from the race.

However, Macharia noted some voters would still end up voting for her.

On the ballot papers, Ngilu was listed the fourth candidate after former governor Julius Malombe, former Nairobi Deputy Governor Jonathan Mueke and former Kitui Senator David Musila.

Ngilu withdrew from the race in favour of Musila.

In Lamu, clerks complained about Kiems kits failing to identify Swahili women voters who have applied heena on their fingers.

The officials, however, noted there was a prior announcement asking them to ensure they remove the heena before the voting day but a majority did not adhere.

Lamu county deputy returning officer Mohamed Ali said they were instructed to use the alphanumeric identification of voters where ID cards numbers are manually entered into the kit for identification.

In Thika, there was a light moment after a woman was busted carrying a doll disguised as a baby to jump the queue at Garissa Road polling station.

The woman was hoping she would be given  priority to vote.

Mothers with small children on their backs, expectant women and persons with disability are given priority at the polling stations.

At the same polling station, a man was seen carrying a baby wrapped in a shawl on his back.

Former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko urged all agents in Mombasa county not to eat food brought by unknown people, cautioning them against trusting anyone, especially during counting of votes.

In Kibera, Nairobi county, voters complained about the slow process, with polling officials citing frustrations with the Kiems kits.

At DC polling centre, there were long queues for the better part of the day with the voters complaining about the slow pace of the process.

“We are now moving. We have been here since 9am and now (2pm) were are still waiting,” a voter said.

A presiding officer explained that it was taking long to identify some voters whose fingerprints could not be captured by the Kiems kit.

 “It (Kiems kits failures) is a big concern. I have witnessed it in various areas and it is something the IEBC needs to address urgently as it can affect us. There are some people who don’t have that patience to wait for long,” ODM Lindi MCA candidate Ochieng Jera said.

At Toi polling centre, lines were short but voters complained the process was slow, making them queue for hours some.

At Raila Odinga Educational Center, the situation was not any different as voters waited for long to vote.

“They are attending to seven people in two hours,” a voter said.

In Kitutu Masaba constituency in Nyamira county, elderly voters found themselves at a crossroads since the kits would not detect their fingerprints.

“We are glad that we are having a good turnout and we are moving on well with the exercise but the challenge remains that the elderly group cannot easily be identified by the system, that is why we are moving a bit slow,” presiding officer at Nyakongo DEB Primary Dolphin Obonyo said.

Kiems kits failed to read fingerprints in many polling stations in Ukambani.

In Makueni, 80 polling stations also experienced network failure  at the start of voting, some officials said.