Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i yesterday warned administrators against taking sides during the electioneering period.

He said the ministry’s support for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) should not be misconstrued to mean interference in the polls.

 “This type of support is not interference in the electoral process. My ministry does not conduct elections; we want a peaceful transition,” he said.

Matiang’i was addressing the National Leadership Dialogue for county commissioners in Mombasa. He urged  the administrators not to be intimidated by politicians.

He told them to work closely with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and ensure they obtain evidence that is admissible in court against politicians spreading hate speech, violence and words  that may trigger violence.

“Let’s do all we can in our respective areas to ensure there is peace during this campaign period. We have established operational orders in each county and invested resources with NCIC to enable live recording of politicians during campaigns to facilitate prosecution of such cases,” he said.

He urged the administrators not to be partisan, saying  no one was above the law, whether in the opposition or the ruling party.

“You cannot be issuing provoking speech and then you expect us to apologise to you each time people behave as if the world is coming to an end on August 9,”said Matiang’i.

The CS revealed that the National Crime Research Centre has indicated a 92.2 per cent increase in gender-based violence.