The three Venezuelans at the center of the IEBC scandal are expected to appear before Anti-Terror police as part of the ongoing investigation into the questionable electoral material in their possession.
This comes just hours after the Electoral Commission weighed in on the trio’s case, which has riled state agencies and politicians.
Jose Gregorio Camargo Castellanos, Salvador Javier Sosa Suarez, and Joel Gustavo Rodriguez Garcia are expected to report to anti-terror police in connection with investigations into the 16 rolls of stickers confiscated at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for 10,000 polling stations in the upcoming elections.
Surprisingly, in the midst of the battle between the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and Director Criminal Investigations (DC) George Kinoti over the three persons of interest, the trio is reportedly going about their business as usual.
According to IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati, the three have been summoned to appear before the Anti-Terror OCS at JKIA following their release, with allegations that they were set to be deported over the weekend due to expired passports.
Chebukati, for his part, has downplayed the Inspector of Police (IG) Hillary Mutyambai and Kinoti’s concerns about the sensitivity of the stickers recovered from the one Venezuelan, who also dragged his two colleagues, following a number of statement exchanges with the police on the trio.
“It is important to note that the stickers are non-strategic election materials. The stickers were printed based on the details of the gazette notice published on July 1st, 2022,” asserted Chebukati.
He claims that the information is available on the commission’s website, even as Kinoti digs deeper, questioning why the stickers were not declared upon arrival in the country and why the IEBC did not consider it necessary to notify the authorities.
“The stickers contain information on the polling station, polling center, ward, constituency, and county as well as a unique barcode,” says the chairman.
“For easy identification of the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS), Smartmatic is required to provide stickers to aid in labeling each of the kits for the purpose of packaging and dispatch to all polling stations,” the chairman explained.
Kinoti’s comprehensive statement, released on Sunday, contradicted Chebukati’s earlier position that the three are Smartmatic employees.
This was a follow-up to Chebukati’s earlier statement, in which he accused Mutyambai of misleading Kenyans about the status of the three.
“We are challenging Chebukati to out his house in order and walk the talk of delivering in his own words, free fair, and credible 2022 polls. He should desist from intimating and blackmailing other equally responsible players,” said Kinoti in response to Chebukati’s statement.
According to Chebukati, Smartmatic International Holdings entered into a legal contract on November 25th for the supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning, support, and maintenance of the KIEMS.
Chebukati assured Kenyans that the electoral materials have not been tampered with and that the commission is committed to conducting free, fair, and credible elections that meet the people’s democratic aspirations.
“Smartmatic has supplied 14, 100 additional KIEMS kits to the commission, bringing the total number of kits that are in good working condition to 55,100,” states Chebukati.
According to the chairman, this adds to the commission’s inventory of 45,000 KIEMS kits, 41,000 of which were in good working order prior to the Smartmatic deal.
The Kenya Kwanza camp has condemned President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government for interfering with the independence of the IEBC and has threatened to accompany the trio to anti-terror police to record statements.
