The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has defended the opposition’s plan to safeguard votes during the 2027 General Election, arguing that the current security leadership cannot be relied upon to ensure a credible electoral process.
His remarks came after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen cautioned politicians against deploying groups to guard polling stations, warning that security at elections is solely the responsibility of the state.
Responding to the criticism, Gachagua insisted that citizens have every right to protect their votes, comparing the move to hiring private security even when police stations exist nearby.
“We saw Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen criticising our plans to guard our votes. Are those votes his?” Gachagua posed.
He argued that just as homeowners employ watchmen despite the presence of police, voters should be free to safeguard their ballots after casting them.
Gachagua claimed the current Ministry of Interior could not be trusted to protect the integrity of the election, alleging that leaving vote security entirely to the government would compromise the process.
Using a metaphor, he likened the situation to entrusting a hyena with goats, suggesting that the votes would not be safe under the current security leadership.
The former deputy president said opposition supporters, particularly young people, would organise themselves to ensure votes are protected from the time they are cast until the process is complete.
Murkomen, however, has maintained that the government will not permit politicians or civilians to assume security roles at polling stations.
Speaking on August 1, the Interior CS warned that remarks encouraging people to “guard votes” could incite violence and threaten public order. He described the phrase kuchunga kura as coded language that could be used to justify unrest during elections.
Murkomen urged political leaders to avoid inflammatory rhetoric and instead focus on issue-based campaigns that promote national unity, peace and development.
Meanwhile, during the recent Ol Kalou by-election, IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon repeatedly urged voters to cast their ballots peacefully and leave polling stations once they had voted. He stressed that only authorised election officials, party agents, observers and accredited personnel are allowed to remain at polling centres during voting and vote counting.
Ethekon also noted that the Commission had observed individuals behaving like “super agents” at polling stations during previous by-elections, reiterating that Kenya’s electoral laws and IEBC procedures already provide safeguards to ensure transparency, accountability and the protection of election results.
