Kandara by-election marred by violence, bribery and low voter turnout
Voters queue at Muigariua polling station during the Kandara parliamentary by election on January 5, 2023.
The Kandara parliamentary by-election was on Thursday marred by violence, low voter turnout and claims of bribery.
A prison warder was arrested at Kariua Polling station after he turned violent.
"The warder got in mob trouble with some youths at the polling station and when his colleague intervened, he assaulted him. The warder is being held at Githumu Police station as investigations continue," said Murang'a County Police Commander Ali Nuno.
The Kandara parliamentary seat fell vacant after Ms Alice Wahome was appointed Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary by President William Ruto.
Ms Wahome was elected for a third term during the August 9, 2022, General Election. On Thursday, she voted at the Muruka polling station while National Treasury CS Prof Njuguna Ndung'u voted at the Gacharage polling station.
As voting progressed, it was imminent that the battle was between Ford Asili and United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidates.
Some UDA politicians encountered hostile reception as they monitored the exercise on behalf of their candidate Mr Chege Njuguna.
Jeremiah Ng'ang'a Kahara from Kandara constituency shows up to vote at Muigariua polling station carrying his tea harvests.
The Ford Asili candidate Mr Njau Mbuchu and Mr Njuguna traded accusations over alleged voter bribery.
The UDA Secretary-General Veronica Maina led a legion of politicians to monitor the exercise. They, too, claimed their opponents were bribing voters.
The Ford Asili candidate urged his opponents to stop panicking and patiently wait for the people's verdict.
Other aspirants in the race are Kibiru PMG Junior on the Usawa Kwa Wote party, Samuel Kioi of The National Democrats and Joseph Mbugua of the Justice and Freedom Party. Mr Pius Muiruri, David Kamweti and Erastus Gatehi vying as independent candidates.
Security situational report had dubbed the race as competitively determined with implosive emotions.
A total of 400 police officers had been deployed to secure the mini poll with 150 others put on standby just in case there is a need for reinforcement.
In the course of voting, chaotic scenes were reported in areas like Kabati, Kagunduini, Kariua, Muruka and Gaichanjuru.
Water CS Alice Wahome casts her ballot at Muruka polling station during Kandara parliamentary by-election on January 5, 2023.
Bigwigs who had expressed interest in the poll besides Ms Wahome and Prof Ndung'u are President Ruto, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and former Murang'a governor Mwangi wa Iria who was supporting Usawa Kwa Wote party candidate.
By 3 pm, voter turnout was low. However, the number of voters started increasing by 4 pm in some polling stations.
Some youths were seen hovering around polling stations saying they were waiting to be motivated to vote.
"History has taught us that you make hay while the sun shines. The only time you are valuable to these politicians is when you are yet to vote," said Mr Mbaria Mwangi.
Other voters were so passionate about voting that they appeared in the polling stations carrying harvests to the market.
Mr Joseph Ng'ang'a Kahara went to Muigariua polling station carrying a basket of tea leaves to be delivered to a local buying centre.
Scaly fingerprints
He suffered a setback when his biometrics could not be captured by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) kits owing to what the polling clerks described as scaly fingerprints.
United Democratic Alliance Secretary-General Veronica Maina speaking at Ng'araria Primary School polling station in Kandara constituency on January 5, 2023.
"Instead of using the manual voter register, the IEBC officials ordered me to go and clean my hands...since I have a candidate I can die for, I will rush home and clean my hands," he said.
He returned half an hour later and voted.
In the November 26 UDA primaries, only 26,000 of the 105, 148 registered voters participated.
The constituency has six wards, which are Ng’araria with 13, 776 voters, Muruka with 16, 240, voters, Kagundu-ini’s 19,129 Gaichanjiru’s 16, 280, Ithiru with 18, 335 and Ruchu with 21,388 voters.
While gender lobbyists had wished that the seat be won by a female candidate, none made it to the final race.
The IEBC Returning Officer for Kandara Ms Linnah Kilonzi said the exercise was generally fairly peaceful in all the 197 polling stations.
