NAIROBI—Al Shabab has denied it made away with Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) during the group’s raid on an AP camp in Mandera last week.
Instead, the militant group accused the government of making up the claim.
“The Mujahideen termed as false the claims of the Kenyan Government that some of the things we have seized include some of the election equipment known as BVR,” the group said on its website. The same statement was broadcast on it’s online radio.
“Mujahideen say those equipment were not part of the spoils seized (sic),” the statement further clarified.
It’s not Al Shabab’s norm to deny what governments claim happened in the aftermath of their attacks. Shabab maintained that they were behind the attack and did not make any reference to a teenager killed in the crossfire during the attack.
This latest development puts pressure on the government to locate the BVR machines.
Lafey Deputy County Commissioner Eric Oronyi told the Nation on Thursday that Al Shabab made away with BVR machines stored at the camp.
“The attackers made away with a police vehicle, a motorcycle, three rifles, bullets and four voter registration kits belonging to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission,” Mr Oronyi said.
However, in a statement released on Friday by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the agency assured that the militant would not be able to tamper with machine and the information contained.
On it’s website, Al Shabab challenged the government to come clean on who stole the machines, saying it was a propaganda by the Kenyan administration.
“Kenyan Government should stop lying about the kit. It is true that the Mujahideen attacked a police camp and seized police vehicle, several rifles, and ammunition. But they did not take away any election equipment,” says the statement.
