NAIROBI,Kenya July 16 – Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen has warned that anybody found to have instigated violence or chaos during the Ol Kalou by-election will face the full force of the law.
He said the law will not spare security officers who will be found to have acted unlawfully and used excessive force.
“Allegations of some persons causing havoc in Ol Kalou must be investigated and anyone culpable must be arrested,” he warned.
The CS said the Inspector General of Police had deployed enough officers to provide security in Ol Kalou.
Murkomen spoke in Trans Nzoia County after addressing the County Assembly and presiding over the official opening of the Wellness and Committee Services Centre.
Fresh questions have emerged over the identity of heavily armed masked men who stormed the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election in a convoy of unmarked vehicles on Thursday, assaulting journalists and dispersing residents with teargas just hours after the same vehicles were seen ferrying plainclothes officers carrying teargas launchers.
The unidentified men, dressed in balaclavas and armed with firearms, arrived in at least five Toyota Land Cruisers, double-cab pickup and a saloon car before confronting members of the public in chaotic scenes that escalated tensions at the closely watched by-election.
Several journalists covering the poll reported being assaulted, while cameras and other equipment were confiscated during the operation.
Earlier in the day, the same unmarked Toyota Prado vehicles had been observed transporting plainclothes officers equipped with teargas launchers around the constituency, although authorities had not identified the officers or the units to which they belonged.
The developments appeared to contradict assurances by Central Regional Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha, who earlier dismissed claims that security agencies were using unmarked vehicles during the poll.
“Anyone driving a vehicle without number plates is breaking the law. Police vehicles have registration plates, including my own official vehicle. If we find any vehicle operating without number plates, it will be impounded and taken to the police station,” Nkanatha told journalists.
He, however, confirmed that detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had been deployed in civilian attire as part of the election security operation.
“The DCI officers are here with us, and you know they normally operate in civilian clothing. We cannot say we do not have officers in civilian clothes because that is how DCI officers carry out their duties,” he said.