Kenya election official Roselyn Akombe resigns and flees to US

A senior member of Kenya's electoral commission (IEBC) has resigned, saying the country is unable to hold credible elections next week.

Roselyn Akombe said the IEBC was under political "siege", unable to reach consensus or take any decisions.

Now in the US, she told the BBC she had feared for her safety while in Kenya after receiving numerous threats.

Last week, opposition leader Raila Odinga pulled out of the 26 October presidential re-run.

The Supreme Court annulled the result of the original 8 August poll, which saw current President Uhuru Kenyatta declared winner, after finding irregularities and illegalities.

In a BBC Newsday interview from New York, Ms Akombe said the election commission's IT head, Chris Msando, was "brutally murdered" before the August poll, and "you'll be suicidal to think that nothing will happen to you".

"I have never felt the kind of fear that I felt in my own country," Ms Akombe told the BBC.

SOURCE: BBC NEWS
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