On Monday, July 25, the national dailies broadly spotlighted the happenings in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as controversies rock the elections management body.
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The newspapers also reported on a road carnage that left upward of 20 people dying after the bus they were traveling in plunged into a rive in Nithi, Meru county.
Kenyan Newspapers Review For July 25
- The Standard
Abdullahi Abdi Mohamed has broken his silence after being linked with three Venezuelan nationals arrested over possession of election materials.
The trio was apprehended on varied dates the past week after checking into the country with stickers purportedly procured by the IEBC.
The customs officers, in conjunction with security enforcement agencies, held them for interrogation after it emerged they were holding the materials without observing the requirements.
Owing to the arrests, the IEBC, through its chairman Wafula Chebukati faulted the National Police Service and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for “harassing and intimidating” the commission’s officials lawful charged with supplying the technology for use in the oncoming elections.
The DCI, however, in a lengthy statement on Sunday, denounced Chebukati, stating that the three were not the agency’s officials as earlier claimed by its chairperson.
George Kinoti linked them to Abdullahi, the chief executive of Seamless Limited; Seamless is said to be the local agent of Smartmatic International Holding BV, which has been contacted by the IEBC to deploy the technology for use in the August 9 polls.
After becoming the centre of discussion in the whole saga, Abdullahi came out to clarify that the three lawfully landed in the country and were to partake in the preparations of the election.
- Daily Nation
The daily reported on a carnage on Sunday, July 24, that left more than 20 people dead. A bus belonging to the Modern Coast transport company plummeted 40 meters deep into the Nithi River.
The Mombasa-bound bus is said to have been travelling from Meru when it lost control and fell off the bridge. Heartbreaking images of bodies strewn across the water could be seen even as Tharaka Nithi County Fire and Rescue team members embarked on a rescue mission.
According to eyewitness reports, the bus seems to have experienced brake failure while going downhill, which made it impossible for the driver to control the crippled machine.
“The bus must have developed brake failure because it was at a very high speed when the accident happened,” one eyewitness said.
24 fatalities were confirmed on Sunday evening. The survivors were rushed to Chuka County Referral Hospital and PCEA Chogoria Mission Hospital for medical attention.
- The Star
The publication also delved into the IEBC stickers saga as the police in Nairobi raided a private office in the city over a suspicious transfer of servers said to be holding crucial information.
The law enforcers stormed the private office, which formerly belonged to Deputy President William Ruto, on the ninth floor of Transnational Plaza in Nairobi’s Central Business District.
Speaking to the press after the raid, Nairobi Police Commander James Muger said two computers and two servers were impounded during the exercise.
“We were acting on reports to come here. We have taken two servers which will be analyzed by experts to tell us more on claims of the contents,” he said.
It was reported that the confiscated equipment belongs to Lamstar Technologies whose staffers were transferring them in the middle of the night.
One of the company’s directors said the servers serve a number of Saccos, but investigations are set to unveil the pieces of information that the servers have.
- People Daily
The publication reported on the decision by the Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga to skip the highly anticipated 2022 Presidential Debate slated for July 26.
Raila’s campaign secretariat said, Deputy President William Ruto, who was scheduled to face off with their candidate at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, ‘lacks basic decency’.
In a press statement released on Sunday, July 24, the secretariat’s spokesperson Makau Mutua sensationally said that the DP has no regard for ethics, public morals or shame.
“This is a man who has no regard for ethics, public morals or shame. All is well know that our opponent has traversed the country hurling epithets at us and other key national leaders, including vile sexist attacks. It would be a colossal mistake to reward such a person with a national debate,” the Azimio secretariat said.
Mutua claimed the DP had demanded the debate not focus on corruption, ethics and governance. which are issues at the core of the Azimio campaign and “any debate devoid of these questions will be an insult to the intelligence of Kenyans.”