Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has claimed that his official security detail was withdrawn without prior notice, just hours before Thursday’s by-elections in Malava.
In a video shared on his social media pages, the Senator linked the withdrawal to his decision to support an Opposition candidate in the Malava by-election.
Khalwale, who is also the Senate Majority Whip, said he remained calm.
“Our citizens are ready to exercise their democratic rights without fear or intimidation. Even though my security detail was unexpectedly withdrawn, I still believe that Malava will come through with a strong victory,” he said.
He called on state agencies involved in the electoral process to ensure that the polls remain peaceful and transparent.
“Let’s allow the will of the people to shine through,” he said, adding that elections naturally produce winners and losers and urging authorities not to “resort to desperate measures.”
Khalwale further alleged that the security detail of Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya had also been withdrawn.
“I have been given six police officers as per my office. Where are they? What are you planning to do?” he posed.
“We are not violent people. If there are any incidences of violence, it’s because we are refusing to be intimidated in front of our wives and children,” he said.
Khalwale also cautioned young people, whom he alleged had been brought in from outside Kakamega, saying they could unknowingly put themselves in danger.
However, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen dismissed suggestions of political targeting.
He confirmed that the security details of Governor Natembeya and several other VIPs had been withdrawn, saying the move was based on a National Police Service (NPS) report.
Speaking during a briefing in Kasipul on Wednesday, Murkomen said the withdrawals followed concerns raised by the police regarding the conduct of some officers attached to VIPs.
“Any security measure taken by the National Police Service is to avoid crisis. If a police officer attached to a VIP is walking and working with goons, the best thing is to remove them,” he said.
“In any case, there is no boss tomorrow. The people are the bosses, and they are going to elect their boss.”
Murkomen said the withdrawals were temporary and would remain in place pending investigations into the conduct of the officers and the VIPs they were assigned to protect.
The developments come amid heightened scrutiny over election security ahead of the by-elections. Murkomen said security officers deployed to polling areas would aim to ensure a peaceful environment.
“Our job as a government is to ensure voters are not intimidated,” he said, adding that actions taken against individuals causing disruptions were meant to maintain order.
