Kenya’s electoral commission has moved to calm nerves ahead of Thursday’s by-elections, announcing that every single polling station across the 22 wards and constituencies will have at least two uniformed officers on duty.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says extra patrol teams and rapid-response units will also be on standby, with security tightened at tallying centres and along key routes.
“We want voters to feel completely safe when they turn up to cast their ballot,” IEBC chairperson Erastus Ethekon said in a statement released on Tuesday.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen toured several hotspots on Monday and delivered a blunt warning to anyone thinking of causing trouble.
Speaking in Kasipul constituency, he said loiterers and hired thugs will be treated like any other criminal. “Our job is to make sure ordinary voters are not scared. If the goons feel intimidated by police, that makes me very happy,” he told a public meeting.
Murkomen gave special reassurance to women, elderly people and those with disabilities, groups that have sometimes stayed away from polls because of past violence. He also put vehicle owners on notice: anyone whose car is used to ferry troublemakers will face prosecution.
The tough talk comes after recent by-elections have seen sporadic chaos, including snatching of ballot boxes and intimidation at polling stations.
Thursday’s votes cover five parliamentary seats and several county assembly wards, many of them battlegrounds between the ruling coalition and the opposition Azimio alliance.
Polling stations open at 6 am and close at 5 pm. The IEBC has urged anyone who sees irregularities to report them immediately through official police hotlines rather than taking matters into their own hands.
For millions of ordinary Kenyans, the promise of a heavy but peaceful security presence will decide whether they brave the queues or simply stay at home.
