NAIROBI, Kenya– A leading elections observer has issued a scathing assessment of last Thursday’s mini-polls, calling for immediate and sweeping reforms by the electoral commission to prevent a total collapse of integrity in future votes.
In a preliminary report released Saturday, November 29th, Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi! under its Angaza Kura platform detailed a litany of malpractices witnessed during the November 27 by-elections in Malava Constituency, Chwele/Kabuchai and Kariobangi North Wards.
According to the watchdog, they observed the procedures during the opening of polling stations, the voting process, the closing of polling stations, and the counting and tallying of votes in selected tallying centres.
Voting Environment
The group has directed a series of concise, critical recommendations to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chaired by Dr Erastus Ethekon.
“Whereas the voting environment during the day remained mostly calm and efficient, with polling layouts designed to support smooth voter flow. The process was undermined by persistent accessibility challenges, including blackouts in some polling stations, like Busaka Primary Polling Station, Chwele Vocational Training Centre (VTC) Polling Station,” said Dr Kawive Wambua, CEO of Inuka Kenya.
Dr Wambua decries that what they observed was not just inefficiency, but a deliberate erosion of electoral standards. There were some polling stations, like Nalondo DEB and Marura Primary Schools, where wheelchair users faced physical barriers like staircases, a lack of ramps, and overgrown paths.
“These gaps reveal a polling environment that, while procedurally sound, still falls short of ensuring full accessibility and equal participation for all voters, particularly persons with disabilities,” the report reads in part.
They noted that KIEMS kits functioned reliably overall, but occasional biometric verification failures forced temporary reliance on manual registers and caused minor delays in some polling stations, like room 2 at Busakala Primary School Polling Station.
The observer group, which deployed 52 personnel, documented incidents it says demand urgent IEBC action on vital areas such as Electoral Violence, Systematic Voter Bribery, Exclusion of Disabled Voters, and Intimidation by Super Agents.
“From open bribery at polling gates to violent assaults in broad daylight, the environment was compromised. Operatives distributed money and items like “kalamu” from within polling centre classrooms and nearby homes, notably in Busakala and Shitirira,” Inuka says.
Some polling stations, like Nalondo DEB Primary, the watchdog noted, lacked ramps, stranding wheelchair users, while tactile ballots for the visually impaired were absent.
It further calls on IEBC to rein in dozens of roaming, overbearing party “super agents” who harassed officials for real-time updates, which led to the disruption of the process.
“For example, at Busakala, Chwele VTC, Musese CDF Polling Station and Shitirira Primary School Polling Station, at least ten such agents made visits, creating pressure on election officials,” Inuka Kenya said.
This was coupled with some party leaders remaining in or around polling stations long after voting, contributing to an environment that could be interpreted as tense and intimidatory.
Cases of voter bribery and undue influence, they say were observed in both Chwele-Kabuchai Ward and Malava Constituency, including incidents occurring within polling stations and in nearby homes belonging to party agents, often within the prohibited 400-metre radius.
These practices, Inuka Kenya warns not only breach IEBC regulations, but also undermine the integrity of the electoral process.
“The IEBC officials who were asked to intervene claimed that it was the work of the National Police Service and other law enforcement agents.”
Call to Action
Some of the key recommendations by the Dr Wambua-led organisation for the IEBC include the Enforcement of a Zero-Tolerance Policy where IEBC officials must actively intervene, document, and facilitate the arrest of perpetrators of bribery and violence, not defer solely to the police.
“They should guarantee a full pre-election accessibility audit for all polling centres and provide necessary aids like ramps and tactile ballots.”
To end “Super Agents” harassments, Dr Wambua suggest that IEBC should issue secure, polling-station-specific accreditation and empower Presiding Officers to eject disruptive agents.
In the upcoming elections, Inuka decried the presence of local administrators (chiefs, sub-chiefs) who are allowed to remain at polling stations after the voting exercise.”They should be barred from exerting undue influence.”
The protection of ballot secrecy, it emphasises can only be achieved by re-training IEBC staff on assisted voting procedures after agents were invited to view voters’ choices in Walukaya and Eshibinga. The report highlighted that while the voting day proceeded with basic order, these breaches fundamentally undermined credibility.
In Kariobangi North, the report points to a significantly low turnout of 29%, despite having 24,500 registered voters and 34 polling stations distributed across five centres, each capable of accommodating up to 700 voters, as a potential sign of eroded public trust.
During the voting, tallying and ballot paper counting, Inuka Kenya observers submitted their findings through online observation tools to the national coordinating team.
“Treat our findings with utmost seriousness, as the implementation of these reforms is critical for the survival of credible democracy in Kenya. This preliminary statement is therefore based on verified reports from sampled polling stations and the three tallying centres on 27 November 2025,” Inuka Kenya urged.
