Petitioner raise concerns with IEBC over electoral manipulation threat posed by AI, spyware

The national electoral body, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has been challenged to demonstrate to the public on safety safeguards the poll body has instituted to forestall possible electoral manipulation threat posed by Artificial intelligence (AI) and spywares.

Laban Omusundi, a Nakuru based human rights lobbyist wants the commission to outline a comprehensive cybersecurity framework within 60 days to safeguard electoral technologies, including the Kiems kits.

He noted that the cybersecurity threats could undermine the credibility of future polls even as the country gears up to the 2027 general elections.

In his petition, Omusundi urged the electoral body to acknowledge the risks posed by spyware and AI-driven interference, saying the threat model must cover all electoral assets.

“The framework should include asset inventory, secure development lifecycle, penetration testing, independent code review, supply-chain controls, incident response, logging and post-election audits, mapped to the law’s requirements,” Omusundi noted.

Omusundi’s petition comes barely a week after a latest survey released last week by a poll agency, TIFA Research revealed that nearly half of Kenyans has revealed nearly half of Kenyans (48 per cent) have no confidence at all in IEBC.

The survey said only 18 per cent were “very confident” with the electoral agency, with 26 per cent saying they are “somewhat confident.” Eight per cent said they were not sure.

In his petition, Omusundi also challenged the commission to ensure transparency and verifiability by making public its system architecture and data-flow summaries.

The activist further asked IEBC to form standing partnerships with independent international experts who would monitor and verify electoral technologies before, during and after elections, with the capacity to detect real-time anomalies.

“The commission should enable observer access to logs under strict privacy controls, release hash-locked software builds and commit to open, independently repeatable verification of results,” he said.

The petition further calls on IEBC to issue regular public updates after significant incidents, explaining the security measures undertaken to sustain public trust.

Omusundi pointed to a September 2025 report by independent forensic experts that found commercial spyware, FlexiSPY, on two Kenyan filmmakers’ phones while the devices were in police custody. He warned that similar tools could be used to target stakeholders in an electoral process.

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“There is a risk to democratic integrity if General Elections are conducted amid credible fears of digital interference. The same may erode public trust, weaken governance and endanger national stability,” he said.

He reminded IEBC that the Constitution requires an electoral system that is simple, accurate, verifiable, secure, accountable and transparent, with prompt tabulation and open release of results.

The petition further recommends that IEBC adopt independent, internationally verifiable technical oversight, including real-time monitoring and post-event audits.

“The same should not be left solely to insiders but have windows for external experts to inspect and continuously audit code, infrastructure and data flows,” Omusundi said.

The activist also pressed the commission to guarantee that election results remain free, fair, transparent and verifiable.

He recalled that in July 2025, IEBC had cautioned politicians against making unsubstantiated remarks about rigging after a sitting legislator from Wajir claimed that votes for the presidency could be “stolen.”

“This rhetoric climate increases the risk of distrust and underscores the need for credible, technical safeguards and transparent oversight,” Omusundi said.

The petition was formally received and stamped by IEBC.