NAIROBI (Reuters) - A senior Kenyan election official was found murdered on Monday, three days after he went missing, poll officials said, as opposition leaders warned the killing could plunge next week’s national vote into turmoil.

Campaign posters of candidates for the role of local representative are seen on a water tank in the Barut ward, Nakuru, Kenya, July 27, 2017. Picture taken July 27, 2017.REUTERS/Baz Ratner NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

Chris Msando, the election board’s head of information, communication and technology, was tortured before he died, the board told journalists, without giving further details.

Kenyans - who saw their 2007 election descend into ethnic violence - will chose their next president, lawmakers and local representatives on Tuesday next week.

“There’s no doubt that he was tortured and murdered,” Wafula Chebukati, the chair of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, told journalists outside the City Mortuary.

“The only issue is who killed him and why ... I demand from the government that they provide security for all members of the IEBC for them to give Kenya free and fair elections.”

Kenya’s main opposition group, the National Super Alliance (NASA), which has repeatedly accused the government of trying to rig elections, immediately called a news conference.

“It is telling that the key person who was perhaps holding very vital passwords has been eliminated at this delicate time,” NASA’s Musalia Mudavadi said.

“Chris Msando’s brutal killing was an attempt to drive a dagger into the heart of the forthcoming election.”

Police said Msando’s body was found on Saturday and brought to a mortuary.

“We view this incident as a crime of grave proportions and a ... special homicide team has been set up to investigate the murder,” Kenya’s National Police Service said in a statement.

Otsieno Namwaya, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, called for an urgent investigation, saying: “Msando’s killing comes as the electoral management body was due to audit its systems, a week away from the election day.”

The audit, scheduled for Monday, was cancelled, Chebukati said. Msando’s predecessor was suspended after he refused to cooperate in an audit of the electronic systems, local media reported in May.

Rashid Abdi, regional analyst at International Crisis Group, said public confidence in next week’s vote could be affected.

“This is someone who was involved in a critical component of the elections - the electronic infrastructure. This will definitely raise suspicious and undermine public confidence in the outcome,” he said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, seeking a second and final five-year term, is running against veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Odinga says that fraud robbed him of victory in the last two elections. In 2013, electronic voting machines suffered widespread malfunctions, but Odinga took his complaints to court, which dismissed them.

In 2007, he called for street protests after tallying was abruptly stopped and a winner announced. Political protests and ethnic violence killed more than 1,200 people.

The announcement of Msando’s death came days after an attacker killed a policeman outside the vice president’s country home.</s>Kenyan Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Director, Chris Musando addresses a news conference at the commission's headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A senior Kenyan election official was found murdered on Monday, three days after he went missing, poll officials said, as opposition leaders warned the killing could plunge next week's national vote into turmoil.

Chris Msando, the election board's head of information, communication and technology, was tortured before he died, the board told journalists, without giving further details.

Kenyans - who saw their 2007 election descend into ethnic violence - will chose their next president, lawmakers and local representatives on Tuesday next week.

"There's no doubt that he was tortured and murdered," Wafula Chebukati, the chair of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, told journalists outside the City Mortuary.

"The only issue is who killed him and why ... I demand from the government that they provide security for all members of the IEBC for them to give Kenya free and fair elections."

Police were not immediately available for comment.

The opposition, which has repeatedly accused the government of trying to rig elections, immediately called a press conference.

"It telling that the key person who was perhaps holding very vital passwords has been eliminated at this delicate time," the politician Musalia Mudavadi, a founding member of the opposition National Super Alliance, told journalists.

"Chris Msando’s brutal killing was an attempt to drive a dagger into the heart of the forthcoming election."

Otsieno Namwaya, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, called for an urgent investigation, saying "Msando's killing comes as the electoral management body was due to audit its systems, a week away from the election day."

The audit, scheduled for Monday, was cancelled, Chebukati said. Msando's predecessor was suspended after he refused to cooperate in an audit of the electronic systems, local media reported in May.

Rashid Abdi, regional analyst at International Crisis Group, said public confidence in the vote could be affected.

"This is someone who was involved in a critical component of the elections - the electronic infrastructure. This will definitely raise suspicious and undermine public confidence in the outcome," he said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, seeking a second and final five-year term, is running against veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Odinga says that fraud robbed him of victory in the last two elections. In 2013, electronic voting machines suffered widespread malfunctions, but Odinga took his complaints to court, which dismissed them.

In 2007, he called for street protests after tallying was abruptly stopped and a winner announced. Political protests and ethnic violence killed more than 1,200 people.

The announcement of Msando's death came days after an attacker killed a policeman outside the vice president's country home [nL5N1KL06C].</s>NAIROBI (Reuters) - A senior Kenyan election official was found murdered on Monday three days after going missing, poll officials said, stirring fears of turmoil before next week's national vote.

Chris Msando, the election board's head of information, communication and technology, was tortured before he died, the vote body told journalists, without giving further details.

Kenyans - who saw their 2007 vote descend into ethnic violence - will chose their next president, lawmakers and local representatives on Tuesday next week.

"There's no doubt that he was tortured and murdered," Wafula Chebukati, the chair of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, told journalists outside the City Mortuary.

"The only issue is who killed him and why ... I demand from the government that they provide security for all members of the IEBC for them to give Kenya free and fair elections."

Police were not immediately available for comment.

"This is someone who was involved in a critical component of the elections - the electronic infrastructure. This will definitely raise suspicious and undermine public confidence in the outcome," said Rashid Abdi, regional analyst at International Crisis Group.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, seeking a second and final five-year term, is running against veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Odinga says that fraud robbed him of victory in the last two elections. In 2013, electronic voting machines suffered widespread malfunctions, but Odinga took his complaints to court, which dismissed them.

In 2007, he called for street protests after tallying was abruptly stopped and a winner announced. Political protests and ethnic violence killed more than 1,200 people.

The announcement of Msando's death came days after an attacker killed a policeman outside the vice president's country home.</s>Chris Msando's body was found in a forest outside Nairobi just over a week before election he was supposed to oversee.

An official charged with overseeing Kenya's electronic voting system has been found dead just days before the August 8 presidential election, according to the commission's chairman.

The body of Chris Msando, a top information technology manager at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), has been identified at the city morgue, Wafula Chebukati, IEBC chairperson, said on Monday.

"There was no doubt he was tortured and murdered. The only question in our mind is who [killed him] and why he was killed a few days to elections," Chebukati told reporters.

Msando was declared missing over the weekend.

In an earlier statement, Chebukati said Msando was last seen on Friday night and sent a text message to a colleague early on Saturday morning suggesting "that he was conscious and fully aware of his itinerary for that day".

A mortuary employee said Msando's body was brought in by police on Saturday alongside that of a woman.

Both were naked and appeared to have been tortured before their bodies were dumped in a forest in Kiambu outside Nairobi.

It was unclear why it took 48 hours for the body to be identified.

Msando was in charge of a system of electronic voter identification and vote counting seen as crucial to avoid rigging, and was the second in command in the commission's IT department.

A source close to the IEBC told AFP news agency that Msando had helped seal loopholes that could be used to manipulate vote tallies.

Msando's death should be "urgently" investigated, Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

"Msando's killing comes as the electoral management body was due to audit its systems, a week away from the election day," said the group's Africa researcher Otsieno Namwaya.

Chebukati announced the cancellation of that audit after Msando's killing.

Msando's death follows a mysterious attack at the home of deputy president William Ruto on Saturday in Eldoret northwest of Nairobi.

Police say a lone assailant killed one police officer, wounded another, and then held off security forces for nearly 24 hours before being killed.

The race for the presidential polls between President Uhuru Kenyatta and long-time opposition leader Raila Odinga has been bad-tempered and tight.

Both sides have accused the other of underhanded tactics in the run-up to the polls, with the president saying Odinga is trying to divide the nation and provoke violence, and the opposition leader claiming Kenyatta plans to rig the poll.

Odinga's opposition alliance NASA condemned the "heinous murder" of Msando, saying in a statement they were "gravely concerned" about its implications.

"That no effort was made to camouflage this killing as an accident shows the determination of the killers to send a chilling message that they will stop at nothing to ensure the outcome they desire," read the statement.</s>A top official overseeing Kenya's electronic voting system was found tortured to death just over a week before national polls, the election commission's chairman said Monday.

Rights groups reacted with outrage, with one saying the victim had received death threats and demanding a quick inquiry into the death of the official, who had a key role in combating election fraud.

The body of Chris Msando, an information technology manager at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), was identified at the city morgue.

"There was no doubt he was tortured and murdered," IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati told reporters.

"The only question in our mind is who (killed him) and why he was killed a few days to elections."

Msando was in charge of a system of electronic voter identification and ballot counting seen as crucial to avoid rigging. He was the number two in the commission's IT department.

All eyes are on the electronic system ahead of August 8 polls because its crash in 2013 led the opposition to accuse the election commission of rigging the election.

Msando's death follows a mysterious attack at the home of deputy president William Ruto on Saturday, northwest of Nairobi.

Police say a lone assailant killed one officer, wounded another, then held off security forces for nearly 24 hours before being killed.

Msando had helped seal loopholes that could be used to manipulate vote tallies, a source close to the IEBC told AFP.

Human Rights Watch called for his death to be urgently investigated.

"Msando's killing comes as the electoral management body was due to audit its systems, a week away from the election day," said the group's Africa researcher Otsieno Namwaya in a statement.

Chebukati announced the cancellation of that audit after Msando's killing.

The Kenya section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) also called for an investigation.

"Prior to his death, Mr Msando reported death threats to the central police station and the police did not provide him detailed security," it said.

"ICJ Kenya is deeply concerned with the continued unexplained insecurity incidents across the country and the extrajudicial killings."

Msando was declared missing over the weekend.

In an earlier statement, Chebukati said Msando was last seen Friday night and had sent a text message to a colleague early Saturday suggesting "that he was conscious and fully aware of his itinerary for that day".

A mortuary employee said Msando's body was brought in by police on Saturday alongside that of a woman. Both were naked and appeared to have been tortured before their bodies were dumped in a forest in Kiambu outside Nairobi.

It was unclear why it took 48 hours for his body to be identified.

Msando acted as the head of the IEBC's IT department in May after its director was suspended for 30 days for failing to comply with government auditors.

He had recently appeared on television, explaining the voting system and assuring viewers that the polls would be successful.

Tensions have risen in Kenya ahead of the presidential election, a bad-tempered and tight race between President Uhuru Kenyatta and longtime opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Both sides have accused the other of underhand tactics; the president says Odinga is trying to divide the nation and provoke violence, while the opposition leader claims Kenyatta plans to rig the poll.

Odinga's opposition alliance condemned the "heinous murder" of Msando, saying in a statement they were "gravely concerned" about its implications.

"That no effort was made to camouflage this killing as an accident shows the determination of the killers to send a chilling message that they will stop at nothing to ensure the outcome they desire," read the statement.

While 2013's polls were largely peaceful, Kenya remains traumatised by a disputed 2007 election, which Odinga claimed was rigged.

Two months of ethnic clashes and a crackdown on protests left 1,100 dead in east Africa's richest economy, which had been seen as a bastion of stability in the region.</s>Nairobi – An official charged with overseeing Kenya’s electronic voting system was found dead just over a week before the country goes to the polls, the commission’s chairman said Monday.

The body of Chris Msando, a top information technology manager at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), has been identified at the city morgue, according to IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati.

“There was no doubt he was tortured and murdered. The only question in our mind is who (killed him) and why he was killed a few days to elections,” Chebukati told reporters.

Msando was in charge of a system of electronic voter identification and vote counting seen as crucial to avoid rigging, and was the second in command in the commission’s IT department.

All eyes are on this electronic system ahead of August 8 polls after its crash in 2013 led the opposition to accuse the election commission of rigging the election.

A source close to the IEBC told AFP that Msando had helped seal loopholes that could be used to manipulate vote tallies.

He was also meant to lead a test run of the voting system on Monday, which was suspended after news of his death.

Msando was declared missing over the weekend.

In an earlier statement, Chebukati said Msando was last seen Friday night and sent a text message to a colleague early Saturday morning suggesting “that he was conscious and fully aware of his itinerary for that day”.

A mortuary employee said Msando’s body was brought in by police on Saturday alongside that of a woman. Both were naked and appeared to have been tortured before their bodies were dumped in a forest in Kiambu outside Nairobi.

It was unclear why it took 48 hours for the body to be identified.

Msando acted as the head of the IEBC’s IT department in May after its director was suspended for 30 days for failing to comply with government auditors.

He had recently appeared on television, explaining the voting system and assuring viewers that the polls would be successful.

Tensions have risen in Kenya ahead of the presidential election, which has been a bad-tempered and tight race between President Uhuru Kenyatta and longtime opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Both sides have accused the other of underhanded tactics in the run-up to the polls, with the president saying Odinga is trying to divide the nation and provoke violence, and the opposition leader claiming Kenyatta plans to rig the poll.

Odinga’s opposition alliance NASA condemned the “heinous murder” of Msando, saying in a statement they were “gravely concerned” about its implications.

“That no effort was made to camouflage this killing as an accident shows the determination of the killers to send a chilling message that they will stop at nothing to ensure the outcome they desire,” read the statement.

While 2013 polls were largely peaceful, Kenya remains traumatised by a disputed 2007 election, which Odinga claimed was rigged.

Two months of ethnic clashes and a crackdown on protests left 1,100 dead in east Africa’s richest economy, which had been seen as a bastion of stability in the region.

Msando’s death follows a mysterious attack at the home of deputy president William Ruto on Saturday in Eldoret northwest of Nairobi.

Police say a lone assailant killed one police officer, wounded another, then held off security forces for nearly 24 hours before being killed. (AFP)</s>Chris Msando was head of information technology for Kenya's Integrated Electoral Management System. His department was responsible for voter identification and result transmission technology for the August 8 elections.

Msando had last been heard from early Saturday -- when he sent a text message to a colleague.

"We learned in shock, the killing and murder of our employee, Chris Msando. There's no doubt that he was tortured and murdered," Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati said Monday. Msando's death has raised fresh fears over Kenya's ability to deliver credible elections.

"The only issue is who killed him and why ... I demand from the government that they provide security for all employees of IEBC, for us to give Kenyans a free and fair election," Chebukati said.

Election observers from the nongovernmental watchdog Carter Center had said in a pre-election statement that the smooth functioning of the voter identification system was key to "preventing malpractice on election day." Chebukati, who addressed journalists outside the Nairobi's city morgue, said the voting authority is working with police to find those responsible for Msando's death. The bodies of the election official and an unidentified woman were found on the outskirts of the city on Saturday, according to The Star newspaper. Efforts by CNN to get a comment on the case from police were not immediately successful. Voters in the east African nation are due to go to the polls next week with incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta looking to secure a second five-year term. He is facing longtime rival and opposition leader Raila Odinga in an increasingly-close race . To win the election outright, a candidate must receive 50% of the votes plus one -- as well as at least 25% of the votes in half of Kenya's 47 counties. If no winner is declared, the election will go to a runoff, which would be a first in Kenya's history. Otsieno Namwaya, an Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, issued a statement urging Kenyan authorities to "urgently" investigate the circumstances surrounding Msando's death. How Kenyans are using tech to stop election fraud and violence "Msando's killing comes as the electoral management body was due to audit its systems, a week away from the election day," Namwaya said. While Amnesty International's Kenya researcher Abdullahi Halakhe said the death so close to election day should be a red flag to Kenyan authorities. "Next week's vote will be extremely close and there is a very real danger that the situation will erupt if the authorities do not ensure that the Kenyan people are able to cast their votes free from intimidation, threats and violence," Halakhe said. Msando had been due to oversee public testing of the election management system Monday. In 2013 a breakdown in voter identification technology was a primary reason that Odinga contested the results, taking the case to Kenya's highest court, which ultimately ruled in Kenyatta's favor.</s>(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The man in charge of Kenya’s computerised voting system has been found dead just days before the 8 August elections.

Chris Msando, an electoral commission IT manager, had gone missing on Friday.

“There was no doubt he was tortured and murdered,” said the commission’s chairperson, Wafula Chebukati.

Tension is high as the presidential election is expected to be a close race between incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and long-time opponent Raila Odinga.

Mr Chebukati, chair of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), said: “In our mind as a commission, the only issue is who killed him and why, and that is the question that must be answered.”

Mr Chebukati demanded that the government provide security for all of his staff. He is now being protected around-the-clock, local media report, with six more police officers assigned to protect him from Monday.

Kenyan newspaper The Star reports that Mr Msando’s body was found with one arm missing./BBC</s>(NAIROBI, Kenya) — An official crucial to running Kenya's presidential election next week has been found tortured and killed, the electoral commission chairman said Monday, as concerns grew that the East African nation's vote again would face dangerous unrest.

Wafula Chebukati helped identify the body of Christopher Msando at the city morgue and said he had injuries to the neck and head. Mssando had been reported missing a few days ago.

"This is a brutal murder of our employee and we are demanding to know who killed him and why," Chebukati said. "We are demanding government provide security to all IEBC (electoral commission) staff."

Msando had been in charge of managing information technology systems at the electoral commission. Kenya will be using biometric technology to identify voters and electronic transmission of results, which reduces the chances of fraud.

Msando had publicly sought to reassure voters that the election results would not be tampered with. Chebukati said they have postponed a test run of the technology scheduled for Monday because Msando was crucial in the process.

The opposition has charged that President Uhuru Kenyatta wants to rig the elections, an accusation the presidency has denied.

Msando was found dead a day after police killed an intruder at Deputy President William Ruto's home after an 18-hour siege. Police said the intruder had attacked a guard at the gate with a machete and taken his gun, which he used to kill another police guard.

Analysts have warned that further violence could accompany the hotly contested Aug. 8 vote in which Kenyatta is running again.

Kenyan elections have turned violent in the past, notably after the 2007 presidential vote that international observers said was flawed. More than 1,000 people died.

The stakes are high for the candidates this time, said Murithi Mutiga, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

"Kenyatta, a scion of one of the most prominent political families in the country, does not want to make history as the first Kenyan president not to achieve re-election. His rival, Raila Odinga, son of Kenya's first vice president, is probably making his last serious attempt at capturing the presidency," Mutiga said. "None of them can afford to lose."

In addition, the electoral commission is relatively new and has faced multiple challenges in preparing for the vote, Mutiga said.

Another concern is the threat from the al-Shabab extremist group based in neighboring Somalia. The group recently threatened to disrupt Kenya's election and has carried out more than 100 attacks inside the country since 2011 in retribution for Kenya sending troops to Somalia to fight it.</s>A senior Kenyan election official has been found dead three days after he went missing, prompting fears of potential disruption in national elections in August.

The chairman of Kenya’s electoral commission said he had helped identify the body of Christopher Msando at the city morgue, adding that it appeared to be a murder because of injuries to his neck and head.

Msando was the head of information, communication and technology for the electoral board, in charge of managing information technology systems.

Wafula Chebukati, the electoral commission chairman, said he was crucial to the running of the vote scheduled for 8 August. Kenya will be using biometric technology to identify voters and electronic transmission of results, which reduces the chances of fraud.

The opposition has accused the president, Uhuru Kenyatta, of wanting to rig the elections, which his office has denied.

Analysts have warned that violence could mar the vote, in which Kenyatta is running again.
The body of Chris Msando, the Kenyan election board's head of information, communication and technology, is discovered. Msando, who went missing three days ago, is believed to have been tortured and murdered.