When United Democratic Alliance (UDA) officials were denied admission to Kabarak University on Thursday, where they planned to conduct party nominations, the longstanding political rivalry between Deputy President William Ruto and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi resurfaced.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has Kabarak University listed as polling station number 173, and that is where the late former president Daniel arap Moi voted in previous general elections after he resigned.
After the university’s management refused to let them use its facilities to conduct the primaries, UDA representatives were forced to stand outside the main door.
The polling station has 662 registered voters, and those who came to vote in the UDA elections were surprised to see the presiding officer, two clerks, and aspirant agents stuck outside the front entrance.
Because it was raining, UDA poll officials and agents were obliged to seek cover at a bus stop.
Mr Ben Kigen, the polling station’s presiding officer, said, “We have been camping outside the gate of Kabarak University since 10am after we were denied access to the institution.”
“I went personally to plead with the management to allow us in but while talking to a human resources officer, another university official came and said no UDA party primaries would be conducted at the institution,” he added.
“The university management said they had firm instructions not to allow UDA primaries to be held at the institution,” he added.
However, a university official stated that the UDA primaries could not be held at the institution because classes were still in session.
“The primaries could not be held when learning is in session,”said the official, who did not want to be identified because he is not authorized to speak for the university.
However, a university official stated that the UDA primaries could not be held at the institution because classes were still in session.
“Some of the registered voters at the polling station are students and workers and it is not fair to deny them their democratic rights to vote,” he said.
“I was ready to vote but when I came and found the officials sitting on ballot boxes I was shocked. These political differences between Senator Moi and DP Ruto should not interfere with our democratic rights to vote,” said an angry student.
While waiting for instructions from the party’s elections officials in the county, the aspirants’ agents were compelled to keep a tight eye on the poll materials to ensure they were not tampered with.
“We cannot take any chance. We must stay here until the official time to close the station then we escort the voting materials to the main tallying centre at Kirobon High School,” said one of the agents.
