Heightened Tensions on By-Election Eve

EMBU – Democratic Party (DP) leader Justin Muturi on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, raised a public alarm over a significant presence of unmarked vehicles carrying unidentified individuals throughout Mbeere North constituency. Speaking in Siakago town, the designated tallying centre for the Thursday, November 27 by-election, the former National Assembly Speaker demanded immediate action from security agencies to investigate the vehicles, which he claimed are causing fear and suspicion among residents. “There is an unusual number of unmarked cars and vehicles without number plates and registration numbers crisscrossing the entire constituency, and they are carrying people unknown to residents in Mbeere North,” Muturi stated.

Allegations of State-Backed Intimidation

The alert comes amid a fiercely contested by-election characterized by accusations of state interference and voter manipulation. Muturi, alongside former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, has framed the sightings as a deliberate attempt by state-aligned actors to intimidate voters and potentially disrupt the electoral process. He claimed that hotels in Embu Town and Mbeere North were filled with strangers allegedly brought in by politicians aligned with the government to rig the vote. These allegations echo a formal complaint Muturi filed with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on November 21, 2025, citing “imported goons” and a coordinated bribery scheme. Gachagua separately alleged a plot to insert 15,000 pre-marked ballot papers into the tally.

A National Pattern of Concern

The use of unmarked vehicles, particularly by state agents, is a deeply sensitive issue in Kenya, often linked to a history of abductions and extrajudicial actions. Human rights organizations have extensively documented cases where security forces in civilian clothing use vehicles with concealed or missing number plates to carry out arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances. A November 2024 report by Human Rights Watch detailed how officers from various security units used unmarked cars with changing plates to abduct activists during the anti-Finance Bill protests earlier that year. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has also raised alarms, noting that 82 abductions were recorded since June 2024, many involving victims being taken in broad daylight.

Muturi himself has been a vocal critic of this trend, having revealed in January 2025 that his own son was a victim of abduction in June 2024, an ordeal for which he says he never received an official explanation despite his then-senior government position.

Legal and Official Responses

Legally, the deployment of police in unmarked vehicles during public order situations like protests is restricted. In August 2024, the High Court issued a conservatory order barring the Inspector General of Police from deploying officers in civilian clothing or in vehicles without number plates during protests. The ruling reinforced the National Police Service Act, which requires officers in uniform to be clearly identifiable. However, former police spokesperson Charles Owino has publicly stated that operating in unmarked vehicles is standard procedure for Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers on covert assignments.

In response to the rising tensions in Mbeere North, the IEBC and the National Police Service have assured the public of their readiness to deliver a secure and credible election. IEBC CEO Marjan Hussein confirmed that two police officers would be stationed at every polling station, with additional patrols monitoring the constituency. Despite these assurances, the presence of the unmarked vehicles reported by Muturi has cast a shadow over the proceedings, prompting calls for greater transparency from security organs to safeguard the integrity of the vote and ensure resident safety. As of Thursday morning, November 27, 2025, the National Police Service had not issued a specific public statement addressing Muturi's latest claims. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REQUIRED.