Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has issued a series of demands to Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja over the deployment of security officers for the Thursday, July 16, Ol Kalou by-election.
In a letter dated Wednesday, July 15, the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader called for all officers assigned to the exercise to wear official police uniforms, display their service numbers, refrain from covering their faces and use clearly marked police vehicles.
Gachagua also questioned the deployment of more than 1,000 police officers to the constituency, describing the security operation as unprecedented for a by-election in what he termed a generally peaceful area.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Photo: Courtesy.
He warned that the National Police Service would bear responsibility for any violence that may occur during the mini poll, arguing that such a large security presence should be sufficient to guarantee a peaceful election.
The former deputy president further alleged that some of the deployed officers had been instructed to intimidate party agents, interfere with vote counting and influence the outcome of the election in favour of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate.
However, he did not provide evidence to support the claims.
Gachagua also claimed that specialised units, including the General Service Unit (GSU) and the Anti-Stock Theft Unit, had been deployed to suppress any unrest that could arise after the announcement of the election results.
He urged the Inspector General to withdraw any non-uniformed officers allegedly deployed to the constituency and use the by-election as an opportunity to demonstrate the neutrality and professionalism of the National Police Service.
In addition, Gachagua reminded the police chief of the provisions of Section 12 of the Election Offences Act, which bars the use of national security organs to influence electoral outcomes.
His demands come a day after IG Kanja confirmed that more than 1,000 officers drawn from various units of the National Police Service, including the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the General Service Unit (GSU) and the Anti-Stock Theft Unit, had been deployed to secure the by-election.
According to Kanja, regular police officers will be stationed at all 114 polling stations to safeguard election materials, maintain law and order and provide security for election officials throughout the voting process.
He also announced that an additional contingent of riot police would remain on standby to respond to any security incidents that may arise during the exercise.
