IEBC official speaks after leg amputated following attack in Eldas

By , K24 Digital
On Fri, 19 Aug, 2022 10:20 | 2 mins read
IEBC official shot and injured in Eldas, Wajir, County
32-year-old Mohamed Kanyare recuperating at the Wajir County Referral Hospital. PHOTO/Courtesy

A family in Eldas, Wajir County, is crying for justice after their kin was badly injured during the August 9 general election.

In a shocking incident, Mohamed Kanyare, a Presiding Officer with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) stationed at the Towheed polling centre in Elnur Tula ward, was shot three times by an alleged police officer while on official duty.

The 32-year-old suffered serious gunshot wounds on his right leg. He was rushed to Wajir County Referral Hospital for medical attention, where doctors were forced to amputate the leg.

Speaking to a local TV station on Thursday, August 18, slightly over a week after the incident that also left another person injured, Kanyare painfully recounted the events of that day.

Kanyare said he was distributing polling materials at the Eldas Constituency Development Fund (CDF) offices when police officers stormed the room.

The officers, he said, ordered the lights switched off and everyone to lie down.

"Since it was near the podium where the electoral officials and the (police) officers were sitting. I took a few steps back and lay down. An officer came from nowhere shot at me and left me crying for help," Kanyare recounted.

The surgeon, who attended to the patient, said he suffered gunshot wounds behind the right knee. The bones shuttered and there was a vascular injury on the major artery.

As Kanyari recuperates, he hopes that relevant authorities will get to the bottom of the matter and deliver justice.

"I see some improvement every day and hopefully, soon I will be out, join the community and continue with my daily work," he added.

IPOA probes Eldas shooting

The Independent Policing and Oversight Authority (IPOA) has launched investigations into the incident.

Following the fracas, IEBC was forced to postpone the election to the following day.

"Elections in Eldas constituency, Wajir County have been adjourned due to security reasons and voting shall commence tomorrow at 6 am," IEBC commissioner Francis Wanderi said in Bomas of Kenya.

Jubilee party candidate Adan Keynan managed to defend his seat in the Eldas MP race that attracted four candidates.

Other participants were Arale Ahmed Boray of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party and Omar Hajji of UDA.