Three Venezuelan citizens were on Thursday arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The three were allegedly arrested with stickers belonging to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. According to the IEBC, the three Venezuelans with the IEBC stickers are employees of Smartmatic firm which has been contracted by the commission to manage technology during the August 9 polls.
They were arrested hours after reports that some election material had been confiscated at the JKIA during shipment into the country outside a schedule known by the Government of Kenya.
One of those arrested, Comarco Gregoria, had just landed from London, and while being cleared at 12pm, airport officials noticed, through screening machines, that he had items resembling stickers belonging to the commission in his luggage.
“Information circulating that government security agencies at JKIA have detained ballot papers allegedly imported to the country outside the indicated schedule of election materials is fake,” the IEBC said.
“The correct position is that today morning (Thursday, July 21) the commission received stickers to aid labeling and distribution of election materials. The JKIA security agencies in their normal procedure were trying to validate the stickers with the commission.”
Several hours later, however, the commission said it was disappointed about the arrests of the three foreigners, who were termed key in the management of the August 9, 2022 General Election’s technological network.
“It is with extreme consternation that the commission has learnt of the arrest of three key personnel responsible for deployment and management of election technology infrastructure. The three personnel, who are employees of Smartmatic International BV, were arrested upon arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Venezuela,” lamented Chebukati.
The IEBC went on as follows;
“This is despite the Commission’s Secretary/CEO [Marjan Hussein] explaining to the security authorities that the three personnel were in the country to execute a lawful contract relating to the deployment of technology in elections.
“The commission has a valid legal contract executed between itself and Smartmatic International BV for the supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning, support and maintenance of the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS).
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“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.”
