Stolen Laptops Were for Use in 2013 Polls – IEBC Clarifies

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has explained the theft of Electronic Voter Identification Devices (EVID) computers and kits used for Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) in a number of its warehouses across the country.

This follows a report the commission gave to Parliament outlining the theft of election-related equipment including laptops, BVR kits, and hard drives, in the counties of Kisumu, Tharaka-Nithi, and Nandi.

The commission has stated that gadgets were not used in the 2017 and 2022 general elections, despite several media outlets reporting that the stolen equipment threatened the legitimacy of previous elections, including the 2022 polls.

“Instead, the Commission used the Kenya Integrated Electronic Management System (KIEMS) kits. EVIDs have since become obsolete and their net book value is zero,” the agency explained.

Read: IEBC CEO Marjan Reveals Commission Lost 952 Laptops Before Polls

The agency on Wednesday explained that the said 952 devices were procured in 2012 for use in the 2013 General Election.

“Since the devices cannot be used and they are attracting costs in form of storage and security, they have been lined up for disposal after following the due process as guided by the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015 and its attendant regulations,” it added.

The commission added that the stolen devices posed minimal risk because they only contained raw data that has not been processed for inclusion in the voter register.

“Data stored in the BVR kits, if any, is automatically encrypted by the application system to ensure integrity and confidentially,” added the agency.

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The theft may have occurred between 2013 and 2021, according to the commission’s statement before the Public Accounts Committee.

The commission lost 952 EVID computers, 125 BVR kits, and 1,315 hard drives, according to CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan.

He informed the committee that the equipment was taken while police officers were present in the storage facilities.