Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is the co-leader of
the Carter Centre's election monitoring team in Kenya, has paid tribute
to slain IEBC official Christopher Msando.
“We all wish to honour Mr Msando’s dedication to transparent elections,” Mr Kerry said.
“Security
for the elections and all election administrators throughout the
electoral process is paramount for the conduct of credible and
democratic elections. We hope that his death will not have a chilling
effect on voters and electoral authorities,” Mr Kerry added.
The Carter Centre has condemned attacks on IEBC.
“Attacks
on the IEBC and other independent institutions, whether verbal or
physical, remain an unacceptable form of public discourse,” the Centre
said in a statement.
The body of Mr Msando, stripped to
his underwear, was identified on Monday at a public morgue in Nairobi,
three days after he was reported missing.
His left arm appeared broken and he had wounds.
Mr
Msando, a systems development manager, is reported to have played a key
role in the management of computer systems for voter identification,
transmission and tallying of results. Kenyans will vote in the General
Election on August 8.
Don't politicise murder
“The
Centre further implores politicians to refrain from politicising this
event,” the statement added in regard to Mr Msando's murder.
The
monitoring group founded by former US President Jimmy Carter also
called for “an independent and comprehensive investigation” into the
death of the IEBC's ICT manager.
The Independent
Electoral and Boundaries Commission should proceed with a scheduled
nationwide test on Wednesday of the vote-transmission system known as
Kiems, the Centre suggested.
Kiems
“The
success of Kiems remains an essential step toward increasing
stakeholder confidence in the election,” the Carter Centre said.
In
a pre-election report issued last week, the US election monitoring
group generally praised the IEBC's performance, while also pointing to
commissioners' “inadequate communication with stakeholders and
insufficient transparency regarding their decision-making.”
In
its statement on Tuesday, the Carter Centre said its technical experts
had “enjoyed a productive relationship with Mr Msando and are personally
saddened by the loss.”
Mr Kerry and monitoring group
co-leader Aminata Touré, a former prime minister of Senegal, are due to
arrive in Kenya this week to oversee a delegation of 80 vote monitors.
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