Interior CS Fred Matiang’i says there will be a strategic deployment of security agents during party primaries later this month.
Speaking during a meeting with the Interfaith Council on Security Arrangements for Elections, CS Matiang’i also called on the IEBC to enforce the official campaign calendar to spare the country prolonged and costly campaigns.
CS Matiang’i said a multi-agency security team had already mapped out potential flashpoints in the exercise that begins in two weeks and that must be concluded by the 24th of April according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission timelines.
“We have our plans for ensuring the nominations, like any other election-related activity, are conducted in an environment of peace. We are continuously assessing the levels of vulnerability to security challenges during this season and adjusting our strategies accordingly,’ he said.
The CS said the premature campaigns and conflicts around crowd mobilization and sharing of campaign bribes is straining available security resources as more resources have to be committed to contain or resolve related disputes.
“We have been on campaign mode for the past four years. What follows is violent confrontations arising from disagreements in sharing of campaign bribes. We have had to commit more resources into managing charged crowds and containing the resultant clashes, and this has strained the resources we have at our disposal,” he said
The CS said Government is prioritizing inter-community peacebuilding initiatives to complement ongoing security operations in Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Garissa, and other insecurity-prone zones
He challenged religious leaders to be more proactive in peacebuilding initiatives and to engage the Judiciary in the slow adjudication of cases involving politicians.
This even as the Inter-Faith Council called for the strengthening of the multi-sectoral forum on election preparedness and firm but fair containment of security incidents around party primaries.
The Council urged the police to be impartial during elections saying the Government should deploy more security officers to the 10 counties experiencing insecurity.
