Government agencies on high alert to avert poll chaos
By Eric Wainaina, July 6, 2021Eric Wainaina @Ewainaina
The government is laying out strategies to ensure peaceful elections in the wake of rising political temperatures ahead of next year’s polls.
The government, in anticipation of a highly contested presidential election, has put state machinery in motion to check any events that could lead to violence.
Agencies that have a role to play in the polls such as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), National Intelligence Service (NIS), National Police Service (NPS) and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) have already been placed on high alert as preparations for the voting season begin.
Yesterday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i met senior police commanders to deliberate on the level of preparedness for the elections.
Briefing the press at the Kenya School of Government, Dr Matiang’i disclosed that a technical team headed by Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho will from next week start traversing the country, visiting mapped violence hotspots to assess the situation.
“We are going to have our multi-agency team and technical arm begin the road map and countdown from next week.
We will look at the map across the country in areas where we think there may be hotspots or where things may happen which we need to check so that we are totally prepared to deal with them,” said Matiang’i, who was flanked by Kibicho, Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss George Kinoti and senior police chiefs.
Sources at the meeting told People Daily that the government had identified all major towns in Upper Eastern, North Eastern, Nyanza, Central, Nairobi and Rift Valley as potential hotspots.
Emergence of some gangs in Nyanza and Nairobi regions and tension in various parts of Central Kenya are said to be giving the authorities sleepless nights.
Yesterday’s meeting was part of a series of caucuses the government has been holding in the last one month in preparation for the elections.
Matiang’i has previously expressed concern over possible violence, a worry that was reiterated by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji who warned at the weekend of a recurrence of post election violence.
Haji, while addressing a media stakeholders workshop in Mombasa, called for amendment of election laws to effectively deal with individuals causing violence.
Sources within government now say authorities are leaving nothing to chance due to the high stakes in the 2022 General Election, considered a matter of life and death for some candidates.
There are worries within government that some politicians were keen to present the polls as a class contest pitting the haves and have-nots.
This, according to Dr Oscar Otele, a political science lecturer at the University of Nairobi, is evident by the apparent debate over the so-called dynasties and hustlers.
“Widespread poverty, severe economic inequality, and the long history of ethnic-based development make such narratives especially appealing to poor people with potentially negative effects. This debate is volatile for the country,” Dr Otele warned.
Besides class-based politics, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s active involvement in his succession battle has made the 2022 polls a hot potato.
Hustler narrative
President Kenyatta has maintained that he will take part in the decision on who will succeed him and his allies have been working to cobble up an alliance ahead of the polls.
This has aggrieved the DP who feels betrayed after backing the Head of State twice, and is said to be on a mission to show his boss that nobody can stop his State House dream.
The President has on many occasions been quoted saying he would pass the baton to an heir who supports his legacy.
This statement has been amplified by many of his allies, especially Jubilee vice-chairman David Murathe.
“Uhuru will not leave the country to thieves and a thief will not rule after him because Uhuru is not a thief,” Murathe was quoted saying in a church function in Kiambu County.
Ruto, on the other hand, has assembled a well-oiled campaign team that has been crisscrossing the country campaigning for him, riding on the hustler narrative, sometimes using strong language.
Already a number of the DP’s allies, notably Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ng’eno, Oscar Sudi (Kapseret), Aisha Jumwa (Malindi) and Senator Millicent Omanga have been fingered by the cohesion commission over incitement.
The DP has accused unnamed individuals in government, referred to as “the system” or “deep state” of erecting roadblocks on his State House bid.
Body language
He has repeatedly warned that the forces are hell bent on denying him victory, a position that has been buttressed by his surrogates who have been claiming that Uhuru does not intend to retire next year.
“There are people who are telling us that if you cast your vote, there are people who are seated somewhere, waiting to decide who will be the president.
We are waiting for that deep state, we are waiting for that system. They will come with the system, and we shall come with the people and God,” Ruto has repeatedly claimed.
Dr Otele says the DP is determined to succeed his boss at all costs and is leaving nothing to chance.
“If you look at his body language, here is a man who feels that 2022 is his to lose. He seems to be a bitter man out to take revenge against individuals he thinks have frustrated him.
This in itself raises stakes in the campaign,” said Prof George Wajackoyah, a lawyer.
On the other hand, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, is making what is widely seen as his last stab at the presidency.
“The stakes are very high for the three leaders… Uhuru, Ruto and Raila. Each wants to carry the day in 2022 and daggers are clearly already drawn,” Prof Wajackoya observed.
Victory for Uhuru will be seeing his preferred candidate succeed him.
There is a feeling among Raila’s allies that the 2022 polls will be do-or-die affair, and they are determined to go to any length to ensure he succeeds.
Last year, Raila’s elder brother Oburu Oginga implied that they were finally assured of winning the 2022 election since the so-called system was now on their side, statements that sparked fire within the Deputy President’s camp with some accusing Raila of exploiting his closeness to Uhuru to advance his chances.
“Why have we not gone to State House when we have won the presidency before? It’s because there is something we have been lacking. That thing is called the system.
And now because we are with Uhuru Kenyatta who is holding the system, we are assured of winning, ” Oburu claimed.
Yesterday’s meeting was the third Matiang’i was holding to discuss election preparedness in less than a month, having launched the NCIC Strategic Plan 2020-2025 that seeks to consolidate peace efforts ahead of the elections last week.
On June 16, 2021, he chaired a meeting of regional and county commissioners to discuss regional preparedness.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati, whose team is tasked with running free and fair elections, has expressed fears that unless checked, the current high-octane politics might plunge the country into chaos, and asked police to be pro-active.
“Police have a duty to take lawful instructions from the commission to prevent occurrence of violence or to contain chaos where it occurs.
The country has been treated to ugly incidences of violence during by-elections in Ganda and London wards; Msambweni, Matungu, Kabuchai and Juja constituencies,” Chebukati told a Kenya media sector working group workshop on election preparedness in Diani, Kwale County, this past weekend.