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Kenya police ordered to investigate alleged election offenses

Sunday, 24 September 2017 9:40 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 24 September 2017 9:44 AM ]

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta delivers a speech at the State House in Nairobi, September 21, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The Kenyan chief prosecutor’s office has ordered a police investigation into “irregularities and illegalities” allegedly conducted by the country’s election commission during the presidential poll last month, which has been annulled.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko on Sunday instructed Kenya’s criminal investigations department and anti-corruption commission to complete wide-ranging probes into the alleged offenses of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) within a 21-day period.

Tobiko ordered “thorough, comprehensive and expeditious investigations... with a view to establishing whether electoral and/or other criminal offenses... may have been committed by the IEBC officials.”

The chief prosecutor also said that he had designated a team of senior prosecutors to provide technical guidance and assistance to the investigation teams.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga waves at supporters as he leaves the Supreme Court in Nairobi on September 1, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Kenya’s Supreme Court invalidated the August 8 presidential election following a legal challenge from opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta had been declared the winner of the election with 54 percent of the votes, but Odinga claimed that the victory had been a result of hacking and manipulation of the electronic vote counting system, without presenting evidence.