Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has ordered a probe into the chaos witnessed during the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, warning that anyone found behind the violence will be arrested regardless of who deployed them.
Murkomen said allegations of hooded armed men causing disruption during the voting exercise must be investigated thoroughly, adding that those found responsible would face the law.
Speaking in Trans Nzoia County after addressing the County Assembly and presiding over the official opening of the Wellness and Committee Services Centre, the CS said the government would not allow election-related violence to go unpunished.
He said the National Police Service had deployed enough officers to provide security during Thursday's by-election but insisted that reports of armed individuals interfering with the exercise required immediate attention.
"These allegations of hooded persons who are causing havoc in Ol Kalou must be investigated thoroughly, and anyone culpable must be arrested, regardless of what they were doing and who deployed them to Ol Kalou," Murkomen said.
The Interior CS said the investigations would also focus on security officers if they were found to have acted outside their mandate during the exercise.
"Whether they were deployed by the Inspector General and they went and misbehaved, they must be dealt with and dealt with finality," he said.
Murkomen maintained that the government would not tolerate violence during elections, saying all incidents must be handled through investigations and legal action.
"We are not condoning violence in any way, whether it was Ol Kalou, whether it was Mbeere, whether it was Narok, and whether it is in the next elections," he said.
"We want to assure the people of Kenya that we are not going to condone that kind of thing. Any such actions must be investigated, and perpetrators brought to court immediately."
His remarks came after chaos broke out outside Ol Kalou Comprehensive School polling station during the by-election, interrupting what had been a largely peaceful voting process.
The unrest also affected a journalist covering the incident, with Star photojournalist Enos Teche attacked while reporting from the scene.
Teche sustained injuries during the assault and lost his camera in the incident.
Radio Africa Group condemned the attack, describing it as a threat to press freedom and calling on police to move quickly to investigate the matter, arrest those responsible and ensure journalists covering elections are protected.
Despite the disturbance, voting continued under increased security before polling stations closed at 5 pm.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) later began counting ballots at polling stations, with presiding officers tallying votes in the presence of candidates' agents, observers and accredited media representatives.
The results were then transmitted to the constituency tallying centre as the commission continued with the verification process.
The Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election attracted considerable political attention, with security officers maintaining a strong presence throughout the day as authorities worked to ensure the exercise proceeded peacefully.