- The DCI has launched an investigation into allegations that Kenyatta University students were offered cash to transfer their voter registration to Wajir North Constituency.
- Authorities have yet to establish the identities and whereabouts of the men shown in the viral video, as investigations continue ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has opened investigations into allegations that university students were offered money to transfer their voter registration to a constituency hundreds of kilometres from their institution, raising fresh concerns about attempts to influence voter registration ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The probe follows a viral video recorded outside Kenyatta University on September 8, 2026, in which two men were allegedly confronted by students during what appeared to be a voter registration exercise. In the footage, the men allegedly offer students cash after registering them as voters in Wajir North Constituency. The claims contained in the video have not been independently verified.
The controversy intensified after Kenyatta University community leader Vincent Maina, who recorded and circulated the footage, was summoned by detectives to DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road, where he reportedly spent several hours answering questions as investigators sought to establish what happened, who organised the alleged registration exercise, and whether any laws were breached.
At the centre of the investigation is the allegation that students were being encouraged to register as voters in Bote Ward, Wajir North Constituency, with Welmura Primary School indicated as their designated polling station. Fourteen voter registration acknowledgement slips were displayed in the video and were alleged to belong largely to newly admitted university students. These claims remain allegations, and investigators are expected to establish whether the documents are genuine, whether the registration actually took place as alleged, and whether the students involved were lawfully registering at their chosen polling location.
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Claims circulating alongside the video further allege that students were offered between Ksh 200 and Ksh 1,000, with payment reportedly linked to proof of completed voter registration. The identity of the individuals who allegedly offered the money, their source of funding, and the person or organisation behind the exercise remain key questions for investigators. In the video, the men allegedly claimed to have come from Wajir and, when challenged by students, reportedly said they had been sent by a Wajir County politician — a claim that has not been independently established. Investigators are now working to determine whether the incident amounts to a legitimate registration exercise, unlawful inducement of voters, or part of a broader attempt to manipulate the electoral register.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has clarified that the deployment of voter registration equipment to universities is a normal administrative practice, and that the mere presence of such equipment at Kenyatta University — or any other institution of higher learning — does not in itself constitute evidence of electoral malpractice. The issue under investigation, the Commission noted, is not why the equipment was present, but what the individuals operating it were allegedly doing, who authorised the exercise, and whether voters were being improperly induced or directed to register in a particular electoral area. The IEBC said it is working with security agencies to establish the facts and that appropriate action will be taken against anyone found culpable. The whereabouts of the two men captured in the viral footage have not yet been established.
The allegations have drawn particular attention because universities bring together thousands of young, first-time and newly eligible voters, a demographic expected to play an increasingly significant role in the 2027 electoral contest. Students who have recently attained voting age, or who have relocated from their home counties to attend university, may also be registering or transferring their voter details for the first time, making campuses an important frontier for voter-mobilisation campaigns. However, legitimate voter mobilisation must remain clearly separated from inducement, coercion or organised manipulation of voter information.
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The investigation will therefore need to establish whether the students involved independently chose to register in Wajir North, or whether they were persuaded, deceived or financially induced to do so.
The incident comes amid growing national debate over the credibility and integrity of the 2027 electoral process, with questions surrounding voter registration, technology, biometric identification and the protection of the electoral register expected to intensify as Kenya moves closer to the next General Election.
Recent political remarks about unconventional or implausible voting scenarios have also fuelled public discussion about the security of the electoral system. IEBC Commissioner Alutalala Mukhwana has, for instance, pointed to the biometric safeguards used in voter identification, including fingerprint and iris-based verification, arguing that such technology makes voting by deceased persons impossible.
By Hillary Muhalya
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