The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Presiding Officer in charge of Towheed polling station in Elnur Tula Tula Ward in Eldas constituency, Mohammed Ahmed Qanyare, has recounted how he was shot three times by unknown gunmen.
Speaking to Citizen TV on Thursday, August 18, Ahmed disclosed that he was shot three times by an unknown person who had donned full police regalia.
Explaining what transpired, Ahmed stated that he was preparing to conduct polls at his assigned area before the gunmen stormed the polling station.
One of the gunmen ordered all the agents and other IEBC officials to lie on the floor. He then switched off the lights in the polling station.
Without revealing the reason behind carrying out the heinous act, he opened fire, shooting him three times in the leg.
"Some officer entered the room ordering the lights to be switched off. He later ordered us to lie down near the podium where electoral officers were sitting.
"I took a few steps back and lay down. An officer came from nowhere and shot me and left me crying for help," Ahmed narrated.
Ahmed suffered life threatening gunshot injuries which forced the doctors to amputate his right leg. According to the doctor who attended to him, his bone was shattered, and he had sustained vascular injuries.
Explaining why amputation was the only option, the doctor added that the main artery supplying blood to the lower limb was severed.
As he recuperates, Ahmed and his family have called on the government to fast-track the investigations and bring the perpetrators to book.
The 32-year-old explained that injuries had affected his daily life, including carrying out chores to support his family.
The elections were aborted on August 9 after chaos erupted following a dispute on how the electoral agency had hired presiding officers and their deputies.
IEBC commissioner Abdi Guliye was compelled to fly to Eldas to resolve the standoff and allow voting to resume.
But chaos were still witnessed during the voting process, forcing security agencies to move vote counting to Wajir town.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has so far opened probe into the incident.
