Nairobi — Peace crusaders in the country have urged stakeholders in the August polls to respect the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and allow it to do its work.
UWIANO Platform for Peace which brings together state and non-state organizations made the clarion call on Tuesday amid sustained criticism facing the electoral commission over its credibility to conduct a free and fair General Election in August.
"We call on the nation and all its citizens to join us in: Respecting the integrity of institutions such as IEBC so as to ensure smooth elections," National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) Chairman Samuel Kobia said on behalf of the platform.
The electoral body has in recent days been in the eye of a storm after three foreigners were briefly arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on July 21, 2022, while delivering poll materials.
The arrest of the three officials who identified themselves at the time as employees from Smartmatic International B.V sparked fury from a section of Kenyans who questioned IEBC's lack of transparency in notifying the authorities on the transportation of the sensitive materials.
The Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti who has been in a war of words with the electoral body Chairperson Wafula Chebukati contradicted the commission noting that the three foreigners were not employees of Smartmatic International B.V.
"The brazen decision of the security authorities to arrest, detain and confine in a solitary hideout the three personnel without justification is an exhibition of intimidation on hardworking persons who are only keen to deliver a robust technology infrastructure for conduct of a credible, secure and verifiable election," Chebukati said.
Kobia however, failed to comment on the spat noting that "we have no full details on the matter but we call for the respect of the Commission".
In their plea, the peace ambassadors further called upon political analysts to desist from posting inciting messages on social media.
"We need peace and prosperity for Kenya to move forward therefore as elections draw nearer, we want to remind you of our mission statement this year: Election Bila Noma," Kobia said.
