Roysambu constituency also hit by voter apathy
Unlike previous polls, this year’s General Election will be remembered for low voter turnout that left many Kenyans questioning the country's direction.
As polling stations opened at 6am, many eager citizens were already queueing to cast their ballots for their leaders of choice.
At Garden Estate Secondary School in Nairobi, there were fairly long queues.
Voters at some stations within the polling centre seemed restless and impatient following delays in voting.
Many lamented that they had been in line far too long and nothing was being done about it.
Technical issues were reported with the Kiems kits, with the gadgets failing to read voters' fingerprints. That caused voting delays in the morning.
Polling workers had to switch to manual voting to allow voters to cast their ballots.
There was considerably lower voter turnout compared with previous elections, when citizens spent the night before election day in queues in anticipation.
The numbers at some polling centres like Githurai Primary School and Githurai Sports Centre gradually increased as the day wore on, before a steady decrease in the afternoon, only to slowly pick up later in the day leading up to the close of voting.
Incumbent Roysambu MP Isaac Waihenya cast his vote at Githurai Primary, where he was reported to have been among the first voters before he quickly left. A source said the politician wanted to avoid journalists for undisclosed reasons, though he promised he would address the media at a later time.
Mwafrika Augustine Kamande, a candidate for Roysambu MP, cast his vote at Garden Estate Primary, where he briefly addressed the media and shared more about his plans if he is elected.
"I have done my best to show the people of Roysambu that I am an able leader. I have not just done so verbally, but I have also been there physically for my people. As Kenyans vote, let them look at a person who is looking out for their best interests," Mr Kamande said.
A majority of voters in the region were in their mid-30s and above, with the turnout of younger ones lower than expected in several parts of the constituency.
The Roysambu Primary polling station has the largest number of registered voters in the constituency (14, 739), followed by Githurai Primary (12,853) and Mahiga Primary (11,344).
