Authorities in Magarini have moved to choke off emerging claims of covert voter inducement, with Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) returning officer Joseph Mwofondo issuing the strongest warning yet against photographing marked ballot papers.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, Mwofondo said intelligence reports had raised concerns that some political operatives were enticing voters to take pictures of their marked ballots as proof in exchange for small rewards. He made it clear that the election team and security agencies would clamp down on the scheme with zero tolerance.
Mwofondo directed presiding officers to enforce an uncompromising ban on mobile phones inside voting booths, saying the rule is meant to protect the secrecy of the ballot and the integrity of Thursday’s by-election.
“We’ve instructed every officer manning polling stations that no voter should enter the booth with a phone, nor take photographs of the ballot paper. Anyone caught doing so will face serious consequences,” he said.
With barely hours left to polling day, Mwofondo assured that preparations were firmly on track. Election materials have already been dispatched to designated centres, while presiding officers and their deputies have undergone final training to ensure a smooth process.
The Magarini mini-poll stands apart from other ongoing by-elections. It is not a result of a death or resignation, but a product of a protracted legal battle that began after the 2022 vote. Harrison Kombe of ODM had been declared the winner by a razor-thin margin of 11 votes over UDA’s Starnely Kenga. Kenga challenged the outcome, and the High Court nullified the results a position later upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
The rerun has since reshaped the political contest. Kenga has crossed over to the Rigathi Gachagua-led Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), setting up a fresh rematch with Kombe in a duel that has drawn national attention.
Tensions escalated on Monday after Gachagua accused the IEBC vice chairperson of plotting to tilt the race in favour of Kombe, alleging a secret meeting with Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro. He demanded that all presiding officers in Magarini be replaced immediately.
But Mwofondo brushed aside the political heat, saying he would not be dragged into partisan confrontations. His focus, he insisted, is delivering a credible, transparent, and lawful election.
As voters prepare to return to the ballot on Thursday, the message from the IEBC is blunt: the Magarini vote will be secret and anyone trying to turn it into a photography assignment will be met with the full force of the law.
