NAIROBI, Kenys Aug 14 – Anti-riot police officers were deployed to the tallying hall at the Bomas of Kenya on Saturday night following chaotic scenes by agents of presidential candidates.
The agents of Azimio’s Raila Odinga and UDA’s William Ruto resorted to a shouting match, with counter accusations on vote manipulation, in what almost stalled the vote-tallying process.
The drama almost degenerated into a fist fight between agents of the two camps that began when Saitabao ole Kanchory, the Chief agent of Azimio presidential candidate was blocked from accessing the tallying area.
A shouting match ensued, with the leaders hurling insults at each other to the dismay of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commissioners (IEBC) officials, who have been tallying votes since Thursday night.
The commission has until Tuesday to release final results of the presidential vote as required by law.
“I want to declare that this place is now a crime scene,” Kanchory, who forcefully made his way into the tallying area, said.
Kanchory later moved to one of the counting desks and ejected a clerk who had been accused of changing forms of the constituency’s results.
“Arrest him. Arrest him,” the Azimio leaders could be heard chanting.
As this unfolded, a heavy contingent of anti riot police officers were deployed in the tallying area at designated posts to restore order.
The situation flared up after the Azimio leaders spotted an official wearing a face mask with a fake accreditation.
The commotion that followed was deafening, with IEBC Commissioner Francis Wanderi dashing to the podium to call for order.
“Please let us all sit down and allow the exercise to continue,” Commissioner Wanderi said.
The leading agent of Deputy President William Ruto – Senator Kithure Kindiki had a time difficulty rallying his troops to maintain order.
“Let us maintain order and be silent,” Kindiki could be heard shouting.
Accusations of mistrust coupled with the suspicious activity of rigging of votes continue to be the bone of contention among the two leading camps.
As at Sunday 12.35am, IEBC had relayed verified results from 116 constituencies out of 290.
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