Poll violence: What does this man know?

• Former AP college boss says his life is in danger, turning the spotlight on the role of security agencies in the 2007 General Election chaos

The role of Administration Police in the 2007 General Election is at the heart of a campaign of threats and intimidation that have seen a deputy provincial commissioner report threats to his life.

Reports of the disappearance of Mr Oku Kaunya — who surfaced at a press conference on Saturday surrounded by top provincial security officials — has triggered fresh fears about the safety of potential witnesses for Kenya’s post-election violence case at the International Criminal Court.

Mr Kaunya was in charge of the Administration Police Training College (APTC) in December 2007 when a controversial training programme for 1,600 APs was carried out in the run up to the General Election.

The Waki report into the post-election violence said the training was designed to influence the outcome of elections in areas where President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity did not enjoy good support.

On Saturday, Mr Kaunya told journalists in Kakamega he had told police his life was in danger.

“Some of the threats are mentioning my tenure as head of the APTC but I do not want to divulge more information because it could jeopardise investigations,” he said.

Mr Kaunya spoke to journalists just a day after his wife, Mrs Millicent Kaunya, recorded a police statement reporting he had been missing for three days.

But on Saturday, Mr Kaunya said: “I want to dispel rumours and media reports that I have gone missing. I am on leave and I went to a place in Vihiga to visit a friend and there was poor mobile phone network that is why I have not been able to communicate with my family”.

He added: “I am safe and available and people should not worry about my security. It is true that I have received death threats but that is now up to the police to investigate. I have been given extra security and now I am comfortable.”

Unusually, Saturday’s press conference was communicated to journalists by officers from the intelligence services and not the provincial information office that coordinates the coverage of issues in the PC’s office.

Mr Kaunya appeared uneasy during the press briefing at which he arrived in the Western provincial commissioner Samuel Kilele’s car accompanied by half a dozen officials.

Close friend

According to a close friend who sought anonymity, the administrator decided to “visit” Vihiga instead of travelling to Nairobi as scheduled in an attempt to shake off people he believed had been trailing him.

The friend said the administrator had also raised concerns that his calls were being tapped and he was no longer keen on using the gadgets.

Mr Kaunya told police in a statement he recorded earlier that APs had been trailing him in Kisumu and at his rural home in Teso district.