Officials of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in Kirinyaga have been thrown into mourning following the mysterious death of their colleague, Mr Geoffrey Gitobu.

Mr Gitobu, the Gichugu Constituency returning officer, collapsed on Monday and died.

Laikipia East police boss John Tarus told the media in Kenya that Mr Gitobu’s death was reported by his brother on Monday afternoon.

“A brother of the deceased made a report at the police station on Monday afternoon. The report indicated that Mr Gitobu was driving within Nanyuki town when he felt dizzy and was rushed to a private hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival,” said Mr Tarus.

The police boss said the report made by Mr Gitobu’s brother was brief and did not indicate if he had any underlying medical condition before his death.

Did not visit IEBC offices

An IEBC official working in Laikipia said Mr Gitobu did not visit the electoral agency’s offices on Monday.

“He was driving in town when he felt unwell and sought assistance from a private clinic. Once at the clinic, an ambulance was called, and he was rushed to Cottage Hospital, where he died before he could be attended to,” said the IEBC official who declined to be named since he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Mr Gitobu is said to have been a prominent businessman in Nanyuki town, owning several commercial buildings. His colleagues said they learnt of Mr Gitobu’s demise with great shock.

Humble and hard-working

They said they were yet to come to terms with the sudden death of a man they described as humble and hard-working.

Kirinyaga IEBC Elections Manager Jane Gitonga confirmed that the officer had passed away.

“It is with profound sadness that I announce the sudden demise of our dear colleague and friend, Mr Geoffrey Gitobu, senior election officer in Gichugu Constituency, who collapsed and died today (Monday) at 2 pm. Post-mortem will be carried out to establish the cause of death,” said Ms Gitonga.

She promised to give comprehensive details once it is established what happened to the officer.

“Let us pray to the almighty God to grant the family and us, the IEBC family, solace and grace during this difficult period,” Ms Gitonga said.

During the August 9 elections, chaos erupted at Kianyaga Boys High School tallying centre after goons stormed the venue, claiming there was a plot to rig the polls.

It took the intervention of Mr Gitobu and the police to restore calm.