IEBC officials: 'We regret risking life and limb in the August elections'
Mohamed Ahmed Kanyare who was a presiding officer in the August 9 elections. He lost his right leg after a shooting incident at the Eldas constituency tallying centre.
Mohammed Kanyare, a presiding officer at a polling station in Eldas constituency, is bitter that he lost his leg for a paltry Sh2,000-a-day elections job.
After he was shot in a scuffle on August 10 at the constituency tallying centre, his right leg was amputated at the Wajir General Hospital and the Nation last week caught up with him in Nairobi where he was taken by relatives for further treatment.
He regrets that, despite being harmed while working for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), he is now on his own and the only time authorities reached out to him was when police contacted him to record a statement about the incident.
His story captures the plight of electoral officers who risked life and limb in the zero-sum contest by warring political factions.
Mourners carry the casket bearing the remains of Daniel Mbolu Musyoka, the slain IEBC returning officer, during his burial in Muuani village, Machakos County on August 26, 2022.
Lucky to be alive
But he is lucky to be alive. Daniel Musyoka, the returning officer of Embakasi East, was abducted from his station and he was found murdered days later. Some days to the 2017 elections, the IEBC head of ICT, Chris Msando, was killed and, to date, his killers have never been apprehended.
While Kanyare survived the shooting, he is maimed for life, the stump where his right foot was is a horrifying reminder of the dark events of August 10.
This is his story as told to our writer Mercy Simiyu:
My name is Mohamed Kanyare, 32. I run a family business. I am a resident in Nairobi County, but my home area is Eldas constituency in Wajir County.
I applied for a position at Eldas constituency as a presiding officer, was shortlisted, interviewed and, when I passed, was invited for a four-day training that ended on August 3.
I was extremely happy about it because it was my first time applying for the position and I got it. I wanted to practise democracy by delivering to the people a free and fair election.
On August 8, I reported to the constituency tally centre at the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) offices for posting to my station. However, majority of the presiding officers were not happy with their postings. The election in Eldas constituency did not happen on August 9.
On August 10, I went to Townhid polling centre, where voting started at 10am.
Everything went smoothly until 10pm when we closed the polls. We rested for an hour then started tallying the results, which took us to around 10am.
After everything was completed and all the agents were satisfied with the results, I called the logistics officer to ferry me and my officers back to the tallying centre. The vehicle came at 4pm, and by 7pm, we were at the constituency tallying centre.
The centre was filled with uniformed officers and there was a barrier close to the gate where we alighted from the vehicle to identify ourselves.
We cleared with the logistics department with the material that was supposed to be given and I remained with the IEBC bag that contained the Kiems kit and the official results.
Gunshots
At about 8pm, I went inside the centre and found a queue of other presiding officers. I walked outside. Then I heard gunshots and everybody started running for their life.
I ran into the hall. Then some security officers entered the hall from the front and the back door and ordered the lights to be switched off.
I took a few steps back to where the aspirants and agents were. I saw an officer coming towards me. A shot rang out and then my leg was bleeding.
I don’t know why I was shot. But I think I was a target because I was in the crowd. I was never threatened, but there was an interest in whatever I was holding and my tough stand. Since I could not do it their way, they decided to be brutal.
I lay there bleeding profusely and after a few hours I was taken to Wajir General Hospital.
The doctors concluded my leg was badly injured and had to be amputated. My family gave the consent and when I came to, my right leg had been amputated.
Family paid bills
I remained at the hospital for 10 days and then I came to Nairobi for further medication. My family and friends are the ones who paid my bills.
Only the investigative agencies came for my statements and there has been no further communication from them.
I am the breadwinner of my family and I am supposed to provide for my siblings and extended family since I lost my father a year ago. This will limit my mobility a lot.
The leaders should not make it a matter of life and death to be in a position of power.
Sometimes I get scared for my life because you never know who is following you.
The pay by the IEBC is peanuts because we were paid Sh2,000 a day and it’s not worth it.
I can never recommend this job to anyone.
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An account by another returning officer
I worked as a returning officer in Nairobi.
There is so much power assigned to the returning officer.
A court of law is the only one that can change election results, not the returning officer, and that’s why we are often the targets of attacks.
Many politicians think if they get hold of the returning officer, they can change their results. But because we operate according to the law, then what happens? It’s a matter of life and death.
I have faced a lot of challenges and sometimes you will find yourself eating in a restaurant then they [the people trying to influence you] ambush you there. It has happened to me, not just once or twice and it has been a mystery how they got to know exactly where I was. I no longer visit my favourite joints.
They have people in the police who track you.
A lot of threats
I received a lot of threats on the day of announcing the results. I had planned for everything that I did at the tallying centre and knew how things would pan out.
A candidate whom I knew had failed called to threaten me. I have so many missed calls. My phone rang from 10pm up to 2am in the morning.
I still fear for my life. I am forced to move around, constantly changing where I spend the night.
Because when you get rid of returning officer and his or her deputy, [it is as if] the elections will not have happened.
Independence of commission threatened
The independence of the commission is threatened by frustrated politicians who target election officials to scare them.
Most of the time we fear the politicians and the nature of the society.
I recommend that the elections are staggered so that we do not have voting for all seats all on one day. Let us have the presidential election done on its own.
The police were bribed to look the other way as I was harassed by the candidates. The police did not do anything; they disappeared yet they are the ones who are supposed to protect us.
