Seven poll-related deaths were recorded during the just concluded 2022 general elections, a state human rights agency said.
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights says in its monitoring report that this was a massive decline from 99 deaths it recorded in the 2017 elections.
Without giving many details, the commission said that most of the deaths it recorded were occasioned by bullets discharged by civilians, painting a picture of rising misuse of guns by licensed holders.
“One particular disturbing observation is the increase in civilian misuse of firearms, which contributed to at least 70 per cent of the deaths and assaults recorded,” the commission chairperson Roselyne Odede said while launching the report on Monday.
The seven deaths include three which occurred during the campaign period and four during and after the elections.
The deaths were recorded in Kisii, West Pokot, Trans Nzoia, Kisumu, Bungoma and Nairobi.
Two of the fatalities were by civilians, three from road accidents during campaigns, and two by unknown assailants.
Declaring the election as the most peaceful in decades, the commission said that the police exercise restraint in the use of force and were supportive to the members of the public in making their voice heard in the vote.
“Security agencies carried out their work in a manner that adequately facilitated the right to vote and be voted for. They were quite professional and humane in their conduct and response. Their restraint in the use of force is highly commendable," Odede said.
While death numbers declined, the commission said it still recorded many instances of assaults, intimidation, harassment, voter bribery and misuse of children in the elections.
It said it recorded 49 cases of threats, harassment and intimidation in the country hence disenfranchising voters.
It also recorded 51 cases of disruption of political and campaign meetings that were convened legally.
The commission also found that members of the public were more tolerant of one another with divergent political opinions and that they maintained calm even when results they did not like were declared.
“Compared to 2017, there was a substantial drop in civilian unrest and violence as a result of the electoral process and presidential results. This is in spite of the highly polarised campaign environment," the report reads.
The commission, however, pointed out areas such as voter education, turnout, transfer, polling officials’ training, party primaries as well as building trust in the IEBC as areas needing urgent focus for reforms.
It said that the fact that some eight million voters stayed away and did not vote was an indictment of the country’s electoral and political architecture and hence needed introspection.
“Approximately over eight million registered voters did not participate in the polling process, a worrying trend that needs to be probed further for the sustenance of our democracy," the report reads.
The commission also decried court intervention in the electoral process, with some orders being up to almost the election day.
It said the orders that come late in the day impede the IEBC’s capacity to deliver a seamless election that is predictable and tension free.
“The court’s jurisprudence evolved in 2022 election cycle…as some court decisions [are] given very late with full knowledge of their impact on the planning and logistics of the elections by IEBC," the report reads.
The agency had deployed 273 monitors in 43 counties on the election day to oversee the exercise in terms of compliance with human rights.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati, in a speech delivered on his behalf, complained that despite reporting to police instances of abduction, killing and assault of election officials, no action was taken.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
