High Court to rule on use of KIEMS kits in elections

Several lobby groups have challenged the decision of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to KIMS kit.

Today the petitioners in the case argued that technology is susceptible to attack and relying on the kits there is a risk that voters maybe disenfranchised in the event of technology failure.

However, lawyer Edwin Mukele for IEBC objected and argued that in making the decision, the commission acted within the law adding that IEBC can only approve the deployment of printed register.

Lawyer Elius Mutuma for UDA also opposed the petition arguing that the commission is independent and are not subject to directions from parties.

In a petition filed in court, the seven lobby groups want the court to order IEBC to provide a manual register of voters in every polling station.

They argue that the decision made by the commission and its Chair Wafula Chebukati is not only in violation of the Statute but also susceptible to massive failure which can lead to the ultimate postponement of the General Election.

Mutuma urged the court to be very careful not to seem to interfere with the independence of IEBC.

"The way KIEMS kits work in voter identification is that they do not need internet connectivity because all the voters data is captured in advance preloaded in the KIEMS kit and are available to be retrieved even without internet connectivity," he argued.