Angry voters at the Olympic Primary School polling centre in Lang’ata constituency attacked a driver yesterday, leaving him seriously injured.

A crowd of voters descend on an ECK truck at the Kibera Primary School polling station accusing it’s driver for refusing to stop so that they could inspect the vehicle. The driver was seriously injured.

They also damaged a vehicle hired to ferry election material. The voters set on the driver after he failed to heed their demands to stop and give them a chance to verify what he was carrying into the polling centre.

He declined and accelerated through the huge crowd, which was positioned outside the school’s gate. This enraged the crowd, who started pelting him and the vehicle with stones. The driver sped into the compound with the voters hot on his heels as they threw stones at him.

The driver lost control and rammed into a tree in the compound as the crowd closed in on him. Trapped in the cabin, the driver did not escape the wrath of the crowd that continued to shower him with stones.

He finally managed to escape and sought refugee in one of the classrooms where officials of the Electoral Commission of Kenya bolted the steel door to save him from the wrath of the crowd.

The incident occurred shortly after 5pm when the official voting deadline had elapsed.

The grounds were turned into a battleground with ECK officials locking themselves in the classrooms. Police officers on site watched helplessly as the crowd vented their anger on the vehicle completely flattening it with stones.

Riot police were later deployed to the area, but kept at bay and did not enter the school. Instead they patrolled the precincts. The driver, who sustained serious head and body injuries, received first aid from Kenya Red Cross officials before being taken to hospital.

Raila Odinga, the area Member of Parliament, arrived at the centre and managed to restore calm and later witnessed the counting, which had commenced.

He described the incident as unfortunate after a daylong exercise, which proceeded peacefully.

"The whole of Langata has been generally peaceful the whole day and the incident in which the driver sped through a crowd is unfortunate," he said.

In response to the incident, the Government spokesperson, Alfred Mutua, said the pockets of violence reported in Kayole, Kibera and Langata did not interfere with voting.

Elsewhere, Agricultural Finance Corporation managing director, William Kirwa, was caught up in violence yesterday, as he drove a parastatal vehicle into a polling station in Turbo Division.

Voting had to be suspended briefly as irate youths ganged up against him. They cried foul claiming that Kirwa’s presence had an ulterior motive.

The situation threatened to get out of hand after his vehicle had its rear windscreen hit with a rock. This forced armed officers from the General Service Unit and regular police officers to step in to contain the situation.