Kenyan election IT head found dead

The man in charge of Kenya's computerised voting system has been found dead just days before the 8 August elections.

Chris Msando, an electoral commission IT manager, had gone missing on Friday.

"There was no doubt he was tortured and murdered," said IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati.

Tension is high as the presidential election is expected to be a close race between incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and long-time opponent Raila Odinga.

Police said on Monday that the bodies of Mr Msando and an unidentified woman had been found in the Kikuyu area on the outskirts of Nairobi and taken to the city mortuary.

"The only question in our mind is who [killed him] and why he was killed a few days to elections," the AFP news agency quotes Mr Chebukati as saying.

Kenyan newspaper The Star reports that Mr Msando's body was found with one arm missing.

Some fear there could be violent clashes between rival supporters after the result is announced, with the losers refusing to accept defeat.

However, few expect the type of violence which killed more than 1,200 people in ethnic, post-election violence 10 years ago.

Following the clashes, the International Criminal Court charged President Kenyatta and his deputy with instigating violence, but the charges have since been dropped due to a lack of evidence.

The government has denied ICC accusations that its witnesses had been intimidated to prevent them from testifying.