IEBC Official Stabbed to Death in Mombasa Home Attack

A senior Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) official has been tragically killed in Mombasa County.

Aisha Akinyi Abubakar, 48, was attacked and fatally injured during a robbery at her Utange residence in the early hours of Sunday, January 5.

Police reports reveal that two suspects broke into her home around 3 a.m. by cutting through the kitchen window grills, armed with a crowbar and knife. During the attack, Abubakar sustained a fatal head injury above her right eye, while her 18-year-old son, Khasim Hassan, was also injured.

The suspects fled after the attack, leaving her son injured and requiring medical treatment at a private Mombasa hospital. Investigations into the incident are underway, but no arrests have been reported.

The IEBC has yet to issue a formal statement regarding Abubakar’s death, which comes amid heightened concerns over the safety of electoral officials. This tragedy echoes past incidents, such as the abduction and murder of an election official in Embakasi East after the 2022 elections and the 2017 killing of IEBC IT manager Chris Musando.

Abubakar’s death has reignited public calls for greater security measures for electoral officials, particularly as the reconstitution of the IEBC remains a contentious issue with less than three years until the next general election.