Protest over Kenyan election official's brutal murder

The killing of Chris Msando, who was tortured, raises fears over the legitimacy of next week's national elections.

Protesters have demanded a speedy inquiry after a top official was murdered just over a week before the national elections.

The body of Chris Msando had been tortured before his death, authorities said. His body was found next to a woman, Caro Ngumbu, who had been shot in the head.

Mr Msando managed electronic systems for verifying voters and counting ballots at the electoral commission.

He had publicly assured people that the election results would not be tampered with.

A small group of activists responded to the news of his killing by marching on the offices of Kenya's election commission on Tuesday.

They chanted for justice and against corruption, holding signs that read "we will not be intimidated".

"In Kenya we have a grim tradition of senior public officials dying, disappearing or generally being murdered and that is destabilising," said John Githongo, a civil rights activist who was protesting.

"The timing of his torture and murder serves to undermine Kenya's election management body."

Kenyans will vote in the tightly contested race between current President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga next week.

Mr Kenyatta said he was "deeply shocked" by Mr Msando's death, and warned against "careless speculation" while urging that the elections "proceed calmly".

Electoral commission chairman Wafula Chebukati said the death was a "brutal murder" and called for security for his staff.

Opposition figures have said the murder suggests a threat to the fairness of the election.

"The murder has jeopardised Kenyan's faith in the credibility of the electoral process," Musalia Mudavadi, an ally of Mr Odinga said, as he called for an international expert to oversee electronic vote-counting systems.

Mr Msando's death comes after a gunman invaded the home of deputy president William Ruto on Saturday, killing a police officer.

Recent months have seen reports of voter intimidation and violence, which has displaced people from where they are registered to vote.

Observers are also fearful that vote-buying, or using the names of deceased people could be used to unfairly sway the vote.

The computerised systems Mr Msando managed were designed to tackle such problems.

In 2007, electoral violence killed more than 1,100 people in Kenya and drove some 600,000 from their homes.