EDITORIAL: Give IEBC staff security

Grief-stricken relatives of Chris Msando, the IEBC’s acting ICT director, whose body was found in Kiambu, at City Mortuary yesterday. photo | evans habil | nmg 

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Summary

• While it is not yet clear whether his killing is linked to the upcoming polls or not, what is clear is that the State needs to beef up the security that is provided to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials.
• As IEBC chair chairman Wafula Chebukati rightly noted yesterday, tight security must be provided to all the agency’s staff to enable a free and fair election.
• Authorities must ensure that the public is kept appraised as much as possible of how the investigations are progressing.

News of the death of the electoral agency’s ICT director Chris Msando just a week to the General Election has shaken Kenyans to the core.

While it is not yet clear whether his killing is linked to the upcoming polls or not, what is clear is that the State needs to beef up the security that is provided to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials.

As IEBC chair chairman Wafula Chebukati rightly noted yesterday, tight security must be provided to all the agency’s staff to enable a free and fair election.

Everyone will be watching how the police handles this sensitive investigation, so it is imperative that law enforcement officers not only ensure that those responsible are brought book, but that justice is seen to be done when they do.

Finally, the authorities must ensure that the public is kept appraised as much as possible of how the investigations are progressing.

This is to ensure that there is no information vacuum, which as history has shown time and again, will promptly be filled with rumours and speculation at a time when truth and transparency has never been more important.