The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is constituting a team of secret agents, with help from the Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) who will be dispatched to spy and monitor 2022 political aspirants, with an intention of reducing any instances of electoral malpractice and rigging.
At a conference by the Election Observer Group (Elog) at the Bomas of Kenya which sought to divulge the commission’s preparedness ahead of the election, IEBC Commissioner Boya Molu disclosed the DCI had already seconded a list of detectives for this exercise.
“The DCI has seconded investigators to the commission under a program that seeks to enhance investigation and prosecution of breaches of security and election malpractices during the election period,” Commissioner Molu said.
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Apart from the co-operation with the DCI, the electoral body has also developed a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) establishing a collaborative framework to enforce the Election Offences Act.
“The basis of the collaboration is to find synergy between the commission staff and the ODPP in managing cases, including election materials as exhibits, during the hearing of election-related cases,” he added.
At the two-day conference, IEBC also reiterated that it will continue with its collaboration with the Commission for University Education (CUE) and the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) to ensure the academic certificates presented by candidates are authenticated to weed out fakes.
“The commission is in receipt of a report of the Joint Technical Sub-Committee of CUE and KNQA guidelines for recognising and equating qualifications for political aspirants during the 2022 General Elections. This will be followed by signing of a tri-partite MoU by the Commission, CUE and KNQA for the implementation of the framework.”
