KENYA POLLS: Long queues in Embakasi constituencies

Frustrated voters spoke of how they were redirected to other poll stations after queuing for so long on the wrong queues.

Registered voters in the five Embakasi constituencies arrived in their various polling stations as early as 1 am in a bid to escape queuing for long hours and secure an early chance to cast their vote.

From the early morning chill to the scorching heat during the day, voters in Embakasi East, Embakasi Central, Embakasi West, Embakasi South and Embakasi North constituencies braved the long hours and lengthy queues that stretched to a few kilometres in some polling centres to make their voice heard in the 2013 Kenya ballot.

So long were the queues in some of the stations that some of those who had come as early as 4am were only getting a chance to vote way past 8 am. IEBC officials and security officers initially had challenges managing the queues.

At Dohnholm Primary School, voters who chose to skip their sleep and secure first places on the queue almost brought down the gate as they struggled to find a way into the poll centre way before the opening hours.

There was confusion in some of the stations over whether the voters were to line up according to their surnames or first names.

Frustrated voters spoke of how they were redirected to other poll stations after queuing for so long on the wrong queues.

At AA Villa Ground in Embakasi South, Ms Caroline Adhiambo Omogi could not hide her disappointment after queuing from 4am only to find out that her name was missing in both the electronic and manual poll books when her time came to vote at six hours later.

“I cannot understand what it going on. I registered at this same centre and came to verify when we were asked to,” she said, utterly disappointed.

Her case was no different from Mr Samson Oluoch Aseto, a registered voter at Dohnholm Primary School in Embakasi East constituency.

The SabaSaba Asili party agent hoped to vote early before proceeding to the Greeenspan Mall in the same constituency where he had been posted, but his name was also missing.

“So these electronic kits were expensive for nothing,” he remarked.

In many cases in Embakasi West and Embakasi North constituencies, technical problems were reported as the electronic poll books meant to identify the registered voters failed and IEBC clerks were forced to resort to using the manual poll register. There were also cases of the kits running out of power.

Some women, learning that those with babies were being treated as special cases and given priority to vote devised clever ways of beating the long queues by borrowing babies.

But their tricks were soon to be discovered forcing some IEBC officials to consider marking/stamping the babies as well to beat their trick.

People with disabilities and the elderly were also treated as special cases and were given priority, and they too turned out in large numbers. At Imara Daima estate grounds, 81 year old Elizabeth Wachege left the polling station beaming at around 8 am after successfully casting her vote.