Police arrested a parliamentary seat candidate for Ikolomani constituency on Tuesday morning, August 9, after he was nabbed with crude weapons.
Hamisi Butichi, who is seeking to clinch the constituency’s seat, was arrested at one of the polling stations in possession of machetes.
Kakamega Central OCPD, Valerian Obure, confirmed that the politician had other materials that are not supposed to be at a polling station on elections day.
She further noted that the police were holding him for questioning.
The police in the area acted after receiving a tip-off from members of the public who spotted him with the crude weapons.
Butichi is contesting for the seat under the Kenya Kwanza alliance ticket affiliated with Deputy President William Ruto.
This comes after the National Police Service (NPS) assured Kenyans that it had deployed its personnel and resources across the country to ensure peaceful voting.
On the morning of Tuesday, August 9, the Nyanza Regional Police Commander, Karanja Muiruri, exuded confidence that adequate security had been deployed to address any emerging concerns.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), on the other hand, dispatched 250 monitors to observe the conduct of the police during the season.
“All IPOA monitors will be easily identified by IPOA staff badges, IEBC observer badges and their branded attire,” the organization said in a statement.
“Members of the public are encouraged to report to IPOA any case of misconduct or commendations of the police during the election period through toll free number 1559,” read the statement from IPOA ahead of the polls.
Countrywide, millions of Kenyans reported to their polling stations as early as 2:00am to cast their votes.
