MP Under Probe After Being Caught With Transfer forms

Undated image of IEBC ballot boxes after voters had cast their votes
Undated image of IEBC ballot boxes after voters had cast their votes
Twitter

Police in Wajir County have launched investigations into voter transfer forms allegedly found with Wajir South Member of Parlament Mohammed Mohamud Sheikh.

According to reports by the Nation, the legislator was allegedly found with more than 500 voter transfer forms during the just concluded voter registration exercise.

Police were informed that Mohamud visited the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission offices within the constituency seeking assistance to transfer 500 people from their current voting centres.

Kenyan electoral ballots
Ballot boxes that were used during the Msambweni by-elections on December 14, 2020.
Twitter

His request was denied by the IEBC officials who then proceeded to report the matter to the police.

Sub-county Police Commander William Oyugi confirmed the incident and added that officers confiscated the forms from the Wajir South lawmaker and launched investigations into the matter.

“We have information that the MP and his agents were in possession of the voter transfer forms. We have launched investigations because it is against the law for unauthorised people to handle such electoral materials,” Oyugi stated.

“We are yet to make any arrests but we are investigating to ascertain how these forms ended up in the possession of the MP and his agents. It is an offence for non-IEBC staff to be in possession of voter registration forms in bulk,” he added.

Wajir County elections manager Adan Herar reaffirmed the police statement that officers were probing the matter which comes six months to the polls.

“We confiscated the forms and engaged the police because the rule provides that those registering as voters must present themselves at the registration centres in person,” Herar stated.

Notably, parliamentarians are debating the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to alter the way voters will change their voting centres.

The Bill wants to bar people from changing voting stations to a particular constituency unless they can show proof of being ordinary residents, running a business or that they are employed in that particular area in the last six months.

An image of a ballot box
IEBC officials open a ballot box after the Law Society of Kenya election exercise at Nyeri law court station on February 18, 2012.
Daily Nation
  • .