Kenyan Police have raided offices allegedly used in the past by the deputy president and presidential candidate, William Ruto, an operation that has resulted in the seizure of two servers.
According to information gathered by the Kenyan newspaper ‘The Star’, the operation was carried out on Sunday after a group of workers began to remove materials from the place, without Ruto has so far made a statement.
Nairobi Police chief James Mugera detailed that the operation was launched following reports of the office being emptied. “We have taken away two servers that will be analyzed by experts and will tell us more about the contents,” he explained.
He has also stressed that he does not know who the owner of the office is and added that one of the managers has told him that the materials were being moved to another location. The aforementioned newspaper has indicated that several workers were demolishing the office.
For their part, the building’s guards have reported that the demolition of the office began during the day on Sunday. “Most of the computers and servers were taken out before the police arrived,” said one of them.
The operation has been carried out about two weeks before the presidential elections, in which Ruto figures as one of the main candidates alongside former prime minister and historic opposition leader Raila Odinga.
A member of Ruto’s campaign told British television network BBC that they do not want to be drawn into what they described as “a spectacle” and “a distraction” as part of the election campaign.
Likewise, the operation takes place amid tensions between the security forces and the electoral commission, which during the weekend denounced the arrest of three foreigners hired to work in the electronic voting system, criticisms rejected by the Police.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in late May called on candidates in the general election to accept the results and avoid a possible rise in tensions or violence. “Generations of leaders are asked to pass the baton unbroken and I intend to do just that,” he stressed.
Kenyatta has expressed support for Odinga ahead of the presidential election after distancing himself from Ruto following his re-election for a second term in 2018. Odinga chose Martha Karua as his electoral running mate, while Ruto has opted for Rigathi Gachagua, who was Kenyatta’s advisor between 2001 and 2006, as his vice presidential candidate.