NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 24 — The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) now says the Venezuelan national arrested for being in possession of poll-related materials is not an employee of Smartmatic International B.V, the firm contracted by the electoral commission to supply election technology.
DCI chief George Kinoti who said police were still holding the materials since identified as stickers for labelling bags meant to carry electronic voter-identification devices, KIEMS kits, however contradicted an earlier statement by the National Police Service indicating the confiscated items had been surrendered to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Kinoti said Sunday in a statement that their investigations had established that the Venezuelan national identified as Camargo Castellanos was in the country solely for personal business.
He said an individual identified as Abdulahi Abdi Mohamed had contacted Castellanos join his office in Nairobi for work-related activities but not with the IEBC.
“Upon probing the suspect, it emerged that Mr. Camargo did not bear any letter or documentation indicating that he had been invited by IEBC and as such the materials in his possession belonged to Abdulahi Abdi Mohamed,” Kinoti said.
“As per the contract dated 25th November 2021 between IEBC and M/S Smartmatic International Holding B.V vide tender no. IEBC/OIT/001/21/2022-2021 the three suspects are not in any way captured as employees of IEBC or Smartmatic International B.V,” he added
The said one of the seventeen rolls confiscated at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was blank.
Kinoti said further investigations had established that the Venezuelan national and two of his associates who were already in the country all had expired passports.
Capital News however established the validity of Venezuelan passports was extended for five years in 2019 following a national crisis.
“Venezuelan passports that were issued or expired on or before 21 May 2019 may be considered valid by UK authorities for 5 years beyond their expiry date,” the UK said in an immigration notice following the extension of the validity of Venezuelan passports.
The U.S. Department of State also accepts passports from Venezuela within the extended validity period.
He accused IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati of attempting to blackmail the police by alleging intimidation of election officials.
Kinoti said Castellanos’ associates — Rodriguez Garcia and Sosa Suarez — had arrived in the country on July 15 and managed to sneak in seventeen others rolls of stickers without detection by customs authorities.
“Investigations also revealed that Joel Gustavo Rodriguez and Salvador Javier Suarez were equally Venezuelan citizens residing in Panama and were personally invited by Abdulahi Abdi Mohamed who in a stranger than fiction luck only found Venezuelans all living in Panama and not any other Nationality living elsewhere who jetted into the country carrying a similar consignment that passed undetected on 15th July, 2022 to wit Joel Gustavo Rodriguez was carrying nine (9) while Salvador Javier Suarez was carrying eight (8) rolls of stickers,” Kinoti said.
Kinoti said that the three were arrested on July 21 and taken to ATPU Headquarters Nairobi where two mobile phones and two Venezuelan Passports were confiscated.
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