Govt distances itself from Hassan Omar’s ‘dead voters’ remarks, calls for IEBC action

The government has distanced itself from controversial remarks by United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary-General Hassan Omar over the possibility of deceased Kenyans being used to vote in the 2027 General Election.

Government Spokesperson Charles Owino said Omar should personally take responsibility for the remarks, which have triggered widespread debate over the security and credibility of Kenya's electoral process.

Speaking during an interview on Monday night, Owino described the remarks as “very careless” and said the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) should take action against the UDA official.

“The head of IEBC is supposed to take stern action against Hassan Omar because that is their mandate. It's equally a very careless statement,” Owino said.

The controversy followed comments Omar made at a political gathering in Mombasa in which he appeared to suggest that fingerprints of people who had recently died could be taken before burial and subsequently used to cast votes in favour of President William Ruto in the 2027 election.

The remarks prompted reactions from politicians across the political divide, including within the Kenya Kwanza administration, while the IEBC was pressed to explain how it would protect the integrity of the voters' register and biometric voting system.

Owino said the remarks should not automatically be interpreted as the official position of UDA or the government.

“For that reason, he would take responsibility for his statement as an individual,” he said.

Asked about the distinction between Omar's position as UDA Secretary-General and his personal responsibility for the remarks, Owino said political office holders could make statements that were not necessarily authorised positions of their organisations.

“There is individual responsibility. There is a common statement by the party, agreed by the party,” he said.

Owino compared the situation to an individual government employee making a statement or taking an action outside an officially agreed government position.

“If it is not a common statement agreed, then the government may not take responsibility for my statement if it is not a common statement agreed,” he said.

He added that the question now was what action UDA itself would take regarding the comments.

“The only thing that maybe every person would be waiting to see is what action is his party going to take?” Owino said.

Owino's remarks came as Omar sought to clarify his earlier comments following the backlash.

Speaking during a consultative meeting with Bunge la Wananchi leaders in Mombasa on Monday, Omar said his remarks had been taken out of context.

He said he was instead emphasising the importance of voter registration, political participation and ensuring that every valid vote counts.

“The context that I made in my earlier remarks is that everybody should participate in voter registration and vote, and every vote counts, nothing else,” Omar said.

The clarification followed growing pressure on both Omar and the IEBC over the original comments.

The electoral commission has since rejected the possibility of deceased persons being authenticated through its biometric voter verification system.

IEBC Commissioner Alutalala Mukhwana said the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System uses both fingerprint and iris recognition to verify voters, making it impossible for a deceased person to register or be authenticated at a polling station.

Mukhwana also cautioned politicians against making statements that could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.