Tough Experience to Chiloba as Chebukati demands answers over August 8th elections malpractices, Details

The chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Wafula Chebukati, has written to the commission’s CEO, Ezra Chiloba demanding answers on the mistakes that were committed during the August 8th elections.



In a memo, the Chair demands a number of explanations including why his (Chebukati) password was allegedly used to access the results transmission system.
He also wants to know why the satellite phones bought by the commission were not used to relay data from polling stations.
The chair also wants an explanation why the KIEMS electronic kits used in the election were not locked to specific locations as had been agreed.
He also queried why some forms used in the election did not have security features as agreed between IEBC and the printer, prior to the elections.
The memo details numerous failures by the secretariat that formed a key part of the Supreme Court proceedings.
The demands by Chebukati come amid rifts at the polls agency following the chair’s move to appoint a new election project team sidelining the Chiloba-led team.
Reports indicate that four out of the seven commissioners; Vice Chairperson Consolata Nkatha, Prof. Abdi Guliye, Paul Kurgat, and Mr Boya Molu have dismissed the new team claiming that they were not consulted prior to their appointments.
“We were shocked because at no one point did we discuss or agree to effect changes in our secretariat. We have asked for an urgent meeting to discuss this matter because the commission is run by the commissioners, not an individual,” one of the commissioners stated.
Commissioners Roselyn Akombe and Margaret Mwachanya are, however, reported to be in support of the Chairman’s move, expressing readiness to work with the new team.
“The chairman made the changes in his capacity as the national returning officer. I fully support his decision. We are scheduled to hold a meeting to deliberate on the same,” they noted.
Meanwhile, Chiloba together with ICT head Jame Muhati and 4 other officials have moved to court to block the commission from taking any form of disciplinary action against him.