The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has threatened arrests over a voter registration incident at Kenyatta University that has triggered questions about the conduct of the electoral exercise ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The commission said it was investigating a video circulating on social media in which students questioned an IEBC official over the voter registration exercise at the university.
IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon said the commission had taken the allegations seriously and was working with government agencies to establish whether there was any wrongdoing.
“The Commission has taken the allegations in the clip with the seriousness it deserves and it is currently working with relevant Government Agencies to take appropriate action in accordance with the law including making arrests where there is culpability,” Mr Ethekon said.
The controversy has centred on whether voters were being registered or transferred to polling stations of their choice during the exercise.
IEBC, however, said the deployment of registration equipment to Kenyatta University was part of its normal voter registration outreach programme and was within its mandate.
“Where necessary and based on operational considerations, the Commission deploys voter registration kits to strategic locations to reach out and register eligible Kenyan citizens like what happened in Kenyatta University,” the commission said.
The electoral agency said Continuous Voter Registration is currently being conducted at all 290 constituency offices, Huduma Centres and its Customer Experience Centre at Anniversary Towers in Nairobi.
It said the use of registration kits at strategic locations was intended to take the service closer to eligible voters.
The clarification is significant because IEBC distinguishes between registering a new voter and transferring an existing voter.
The commission said voter transfer services are currently available only at constituency offices and not at universities or other locations where registration kits may be deployed.
“Voter transfer services are currently offered at our constituency offices across the country and NOT in any other place,” IEBC said.
The commission had made a similar distinction in its earlier voter registration guidelines, stating that open kits could allow citizens to register from any registration centre, while registered voters seeking to transfer their voting station were required to present themselves at the receiving IEBC constituency office.
IEBC explained why some people participating in the KU exercise may not have received acknowledgement slips.
“Acknowledgement slips are only issued to newly registered voters and NOT those seeking to transfer their voting station because their details are already in the register of voters,” the commission said.
The electoral agency further rejected suggestions that its officials could dictate where a voter should cast their ballot.
“The role of the IEBC is to facilitate the registration of eligible Kenyans as voters and DOES NOT direct, compel or influence voters to select a particular polling station,” it said.
The KU controversy comes as IEBC intensifies preparations for the 2027 elections, with voter registration among the key activities being undertaken ahead of the poll.
The commission has in recent months sought to expand access to registration, including through the deployment of open registration kits. Its 2026 voter registration material states that eligible Kenyans do not have to travel to their home counties to register and can register using open kits at designated centres.
The commission's latest position has been that taking registration services to strategic locations is intended to reach citizens who might otherwise face difficulties accessing conventional registration centres.
The controversy nevertheless puts the spotlight on how such outreach exercises are conducted, particularly at institutions with large populations of young voters.
IEBC has urged Kenyans not to interfere with its electoral processes and called on the public to rely on official information.
“The Commission urges members of the public to refrain from interfering with the Commission processes as it endeavors to discharge its mandate,” it said.
It also cautioned against the spread of unverified information.
“The Commission further urges members of the public to rely only on official information from the Commission and cautions against use of misinformation to disrupt peaceful co-existence among Kenyans,” the commission said.
The electoral body has since maintained that the presence of its registration kits at Kenyatta University was legitimate, while investigations will determine whether any individual violated electoral law during the exercise.
The incident comes at a sensitive stage of the preparations for the 2027 General Election, with IEBC already facing increased public scrutiny over voter registration, electoral preparedness and the protection of the integrity of the voters' roll.
