Minutes after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman, Wafula Chebukati, arrived at the Bomas of Kenya auditorium to announce the outcomes of the presidential election, chaos broke out forcing police officers to intervene.
Videos broadcasted live from the National Tallying Centre showed Chebukati being whisked away from the auditorium as some of the politicians tried to block him from releasing the results.
It took the intervention of the law enforcers led by Deputy Inspector General of Police Noor Gabow to restore calm.
Unlike previous occasions where police have been accused of using excessive force to curb riots, the officers resorted to calming the clashing parties by separating them and also shielding Chebukati from his aggressors.
Security analysts argued that the National Police Service was refraining from tainting its reputation in front of diplomats and the whole world which was closely following the elections.
Kenya's election was significant not only to the country but the region and entire Africa, as it has been lauded for embracing democracy and setting a precedent for other nations where polls have been bloody and its leaders are power hungry.
Gabow also witnessed politicians and party agents clash over a "suspicious" laptop brought by one of the agents a few days before Chebukati declared the winner. He stepped in to resolve the impasse and seized the laptop.
The distinguished officer is the current Deputy Inspector General (Administration Police Service), having served as the Commandant of the Kenya Police College before assuming his new role.
He was enlisted in 1989 and promoted to Assistant Inspector General a few years later, rising to several positions thereafter.
Gabow became the first Kenya Police Service officer to head Administrative Police in 2018.
He has also spent five years first in a UN Mission in Sierra Leone and Bosnia.
The DIG holds a Master of Governance, Peace and Security Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Penology from the UK-based International Academy Bramshill of the National Police Improvement Agency (IAB NPIA).
