The Independent electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Tuesday morning responded to the revelations made by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

But the letter by IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati focused on the tendering and deployment of Kenya Integrated Elections Management Systems (KIEMS) kits in the August 9, election.

In the statement oddly released on IEBC’s social media pages at 1am, Chebukati defended the deployment of technology by Venezuela’s Smartmatic International Holdings BV firm.

The electoral commission gave a background and chronology of the awarding of the tender to Smartmatic in November last year and preparations for the crucial election next month.

George Kinoti. PHOTO/COURTESY

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However, the IEBC boss curiously avoided the key queries raised by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in its probe on the three Venezuelans nabbed at JKIA Thursday.

DCI had discounted Chebukati’s claims that the three were employees of Smartmatic which IEBC contracted for the technology deployment, saying no such documentation was availed.

In a statement, DCI also said the Venezuelans were not IEBC invitees as Chebukati had claimed but came on the invite of an Abdulahi Abdi Mohamed. 

Camargo Castellanos Jose Gregorio and one of the stickers he was arrested with.  

The George Kinoti headed directorate also revealed that Venezuelan, Camargo Castellanos Jose Gregorio, who was found with rolls of IEBC election stickers, arrived on a business visa.

Camargo Castellanos Jose Gregorio, Joel Gustavo Rodríguez García and Salvador Javier Suarez were nabbed at JKIA on Thursday with IEBC poll stickers in their personal luggage.

Here is the full statement released by IEBC on Tuesday at 1am: