NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 15 — Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has demanded that all police officers deployed for Thursday’s Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election be in full uniform, display their service numbers and use clearly marked police vehicles.

📻 Breaking It Down

In a letter addressed to Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja on Wednesday, Gachagua accused sections of the security apparatus of planning to interfere with the election, alleging that plainclothes officers operating in unmarked vehicles posed a greater threat to the integrity of the poll than criminal gangs.

“The 2,000 police officers deployed must be uniformed, they must display their service numbers, they must not be hooded, and they must use clearly marked police vehicles,” Gachagua said.

The former Deputy President claimed that security operations in Ol Kalou had been taken over by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo and politicians allied to President William Ruto, alleging that the Inspector General no longer had effective command over the National Police Service.

📌 What You Need to Know

Gachagua further alleged that plainclothes police officers had been involved in a series of incidents targeting DCP supporters during the campaign period, including assaults on party officials, the use of pepper spray against campaign teams, destruction of campaign equipment and what he described as an attempted assassination of East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Kanini Kega.

He accused the deployed officers of having instructions to disrupt voting, intimidate party agents, interfere with vote counting and influence the outcome in favour of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate.

The DCP leader also warned that any violence during the by-election would be the responsibility of the police, arguing that the large security deployment should eliminate any possibility of disorder.

“If any violence occurs in Ol Kalou, a peaceful constituency, it is your fault and your police,” Gachagua said.

He urged Kanja to withdraw all non-uniformed officers from the constituency and reminded the Inspector General of provisions in the Election Offences Act prohibiting the use of national security organs to influence electoral outcomes.

Gachagua’s claims come a day after the National Police Service announced an extensive security operation for the by-election, saying more than 1,000 police officers, four water cannons and specialized tactical units had been deployed to guarantee a peaceful, free and credible election.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya