Amani National Congress (ANC) party primaries were marred with delays, chaos and controversies in Likuyani sub county as party supporters destroyed and burnt ballot boxes and papers.
Despite hundreds of supporters thronging polling centers as early as 5:40am, the exercise which had been scheduled to start at 6am was delayed for more than eight
hours after voting materials and presiding officers arrived late and kicked off few minutes after 2pm.
“I came here at 5:45am. I wanted to vote and go back to do other things but it’s now past 2pm nothing is going on,” lamented Moses Wekutu a voter at Nangili polling center.
Later the exercise kicked off and went on well in Sango, Nzoia and Sinoko wards. However things went sour in Likuyani and Kongoni wards where chaos erupted and scores of people got injured.
In Likuyani ward the whole exercise was disrupted after chaos erupted at Seregeya and Ivugwi polling centers after one of the aspirants vying for MCA post was accused of trying to rig and declared herself winner shortly after the exercise started.
It’s alleged that Mrs. Phones Bureza stormed the stations and ordered her supporters to ensure they were in front of the voting lines claiming there were only 250 ballot papers and that was the only way to lock her opponents out of the race for the ANC ticket.
Her utterances angered her opponents and supporters who demanded the exercise to be called off and the ballot paper destroyed.
However the presiding officers were reluctant to call off the exercise forcing the angry supporters to forcefully gain entry into the voting rooms and destroyed all the voting materials.
At Seregeya, police were forced to shoot in the air to disperse angry youths who were baying for the presiding officer’s blood as he tried to escape with ballot papers. The papers were later burnt in the incident that left two people nursing serious injuries.
At Nasianda in Kongoni ward, one person was beaten and seriously injured after he was accused of being a close ally of an ODM member of county assembly candidate who was spying and taking video of the nomination exercise.
Some of aspirants expressed their disappointments after they found their names missing on the ballot papers.
“I am one of the aspirants for Kongoni county assembly seat, I have come here to vote for myself but surprisingly my name is missing on the ballot paper, I am not feeling well and I almost fainted I therefore call upon party leader Musalia Mudavadi and the party headquarter’s intervention and address my case as a matter of urgency,” lamented Mr. Wamalwa Emmanuel.
He regretted that being the only youth who had declared his interest to vie for MCA’s seat in the area he could not exercise his democratic rights and accused the party for locking out youth.
ANC had attracted four parliamentary aspirants in the area Dr. Evans Taracha, Charles Luseno, Evans Musungu and Bright Kyadiva. However Bright and Luseno have expressed their disappointment with the whole exercise .