Via KBC
A bus ferrying at least one hundred youth has been intercepted at Tana River Bridge in Tana Delta Sub County, for alleged voter trafficking.
The youth who are said to have been ferried from Kilifi County to register as voters in Ijara constituency are being held at Garsen police station.
Galole MP Said Hiribae raised the alarm after he was contacted by elders in Galole constituency that borders Ijara.
Hiribae has now accused his Ijara counterpart of trafficking people to register as voters in her constituency.
The MP said that it is against the law to transport voters to areas that they do not reside in as voters.
The area MP having gotten wind of the move liaised with security officers in Garsen to mount a roadblock at Idsowe Town along the Minjila-Lamu road.
“They have taken not only people from Kilifi but also from Tana River and paid them to register in Ijara,” he said.
He added that on learning that a trap had been laid, the bus that was transporting the youth back to Malindi changed route and took the longer Ijara- Gamba road but they were not lucky as the bus was stopped at the Tana River bridge road block.
The bus made a stop at the roadblock at 6 pm where officers confirmed that the youth had indeed been ferried to register as voters after being paid Ksh 2000.
He reiterated that efforts to address the matter with the IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati over the conduct of their officers in Ijara have fallen on deaf ears, hence putting a lot of doubt in the ability of the body to deliver credible elections in the forthcoming general polls.
Residents have since called for IEBC’s quick intervention, noting that the Ijara MP has made it a habit to trafficking voters every electioneering period.
The victims of trafficking blamed the government for their choices, saying that the system had subjected them to desperation hence the choice to traffic their vote.
According to one of the victims, the youth have no choice when approached with politicians with a good bid to their vote.
Sudais Odanga said that due to unemployment and hardship of life, the youth had no option but to be paid to register in areas they do not reside.
“It is wrong but because of our destitute lives we are forced to take the little we are given to do what the politicians want. If we had jobs we could not have been here and this is not the first bus but hundreds of youth have been ferried since the registration exercises started,” he said.
