Reprieve for IEBC as court dismisses BVR kits case
United Nations Special rapporteur Maina Kiai, who had sued the IEBC alleging that the agency had flouted rules in the importation of biometric voter identification devices. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The High Court has dismissed a case in which the electoral body was sued for allegedly flouting rules in the importation of biometric voter identification (BVR) devices.
High Court judge John Mativo ruled that there was no sufficient evidence to compel the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to acquire alternative BVR kits.
The case was filed by United Nations Special rapporteur Maina Kiai, Khelef Khalifa and Tirop Kitur.
The trio had in April sued the IEBC and the Kenya Bureau of Standards over claims that they had flouted pre-export verification standards in the acquisition of the kits.
BVK kits will be used by the IEBC in identifying voters during the August 8 elections but three had alleged that the law was misapplied when the devices were acquired.
An IEBC official using a BVR kit to verify the registration data of a voter in Nyeri on January 16, 2017. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
