Foreigner arrested with IEBC polls stickers released

 

A foreigner who was on Thursday arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) with IEBC election stickers has been released from custody.

On  Thursday, detectives from the DCI began investigations after the polls agency tags were intercepted from a passenger who had hidden them in his travelling bag.

The passenger had 17 rolls of stickers for various constituencies in the country.

The rolls were intercepted and the traveller detained for grilling.

He was later taken to the DCI headquarters where he spent the better part of the day.

In their probe, the police wanted to understand why the passenger was carrying the materials and who gave them to him.

NPS spokesperson Bruno Shioso said investigations revealed that the stickers recovered are bone-fide property of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

"The arrest, impounding and subsequent investigations into the material were necessitated by the sensitivity of election material," he said.

Shioso also said that the stickers were not accompanied by an IEBC official as per routine procedure and they were not declared as per the law.

"The police, as per standard procedure and arrangement with IEBC, were not notified of such an import beforehand to provide necessary security and escort," he added.

Following the probe, the suspect was later released from custody and the stickers were handed to IEBC.     BY THE STAR