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Naked body of Kenyan voting official found with signs of torture amid election chaos

Kenya - AP/Ben Curtis
Kenya - AP/Ben Curtis

The body of a Kenyan election official has been found stripped naked with signs of torture, according to local media, after a highly contested presidential election in which the son of a goat herder was declared the winner.

Daniel Musyoka, 53, was a returning officer for Embakasi East polling station on the outskirts of the capital Nairobi.

The news comes after the populist candidate William Ruto was declared president-elect on Monday amid a brawl at the main counting centre. His campaign faced accusations of intimidation and voter fraud by the losing candidate's camp.

There were violent protests late on Monday evening in western Kenya, the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's stronghold. Police fired tear gas and live rounds to clear stone-throwing demonstrators who claimed that the election was stolen.

Kenya - Donwilson Odhiambo/Getty Images
Kenya - Donwilson Odhiambo/Getty Images
Kenya - Donwilson Odhiambo/Getty Images
Kenya - Donwilson Odhiambo/Getty Images

There were also isolated protests across parts of the country. One source at a rights organisation said that they had confirmed the deaths of at least four people so far.

Tensions are high, and the election has been blighted by controversy. While the head of the independent electoral body declared Mr Ruto the winner, four of the seven of the IEBC's commission members refused to endorse the announcement, claiming the results were "opaque".

Musyoka's body was found dumped in a dried-up river bed at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro near the Tanzanian border by herders on Monday, according to local media.

Kenya - Yasuyoshi CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images
Kenya - Yasuyoshi CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images
Kenya - Ed Ram/Getty Images
Kenya - Ed Ram/Getty Images

"It is evident that the victim was killed elsewhere and the body dumped in the valley. The body has scars indicating torture before the death. He possibly died a painful death," the local police chief is quoted as saying.

The torture and murder of Mr Musyoka echo events at the last election in 2017, when Chris Msando, an IEBC commissioner who managed the technology behind the election, was found dead. Mr Msando had been tortured and his arm cut off, probably to be used for fingerprints about three weeks before the election.