The Misery of an unregistered voter

As the deadline for the IEBC voter registration looms, several Kenyans with myself inclusive risk being locked out of this noble process. And this is not attributed to my apathy but rather for reasons that are beyond my control. The IEBC, has categorically instructed voter registration clerks to turn away Kenyans who do not possess original identity card or passport away even if they are eligible to vote. That is where my beef with Isack Hassan’s IEBC battalion begins.

  When this once in five year exercise began, I, like many other patriotic Kenyans was excited to jump into the bandwagon of the engineers of change. I was ready to register until muggers came knocking by my door. These armed young men spare my life but could not spare my wallet with which my national identity card was among the untraceable contents. Coincidentally, these deadly men took my identity card when I needed it most. I was planning to resister as a voter the same day.

 In order to beat the deadline as stipulated by the IEBC, I rushed to the nearby police station where I obtained an abstract. With hope that IEBC had factored in such unforeseen circumstances, I went to the registration center armed with the abstract. To prove my authenticity even further, carried with me the photocopy of my identity card, my ATM, my original certificates and even business card. But to my utter disappointment, I was turned away from Plainsview registrastion center in South B and was told that anything shot of original identiy card or passport was not negotiable. I walked away crestfallen knowing that the dream of being part of the change that I always advocated for had been mercilessly shattered.

Averagely, it takes more than a month for one’s identity card to be ready. In this case, mine will be ready in January, the time when the deadline would be long overdue. My friends too, who are in the same boat, will not be registered.

 Of course the mess am in could have been easily avoided if the local municipality had mounted security lights leading to my estate with police making early morning patrols to protect hard working Kenyans like me who wake up at 5am for work.

To add insult to my injury, IEBC, ironically are confirming my eligibility by sending endless messages on my phone reminding me on the need to register. I should not be blamed for the debacle  am in, what happened was beyond my control.

Finally, my question to the IEBC is, why didn’t they factor in such unfortunate circumstances? Why can’t they use police abstract and other documents to register? No one is immune from misplacing his or her identity card. It can happen to anybody. Is there no help? It is only hours before the deadline and I wish my cry for help will reach the ears of Isack Hassan. I may be one Kenyan, but I believe I am a mouthpiece of other thousands of Kenyans caught in the same pandemonium.

SAMWEL BORN MAINA

ID: 26216056