The extent of vicious backstabbing, treachery and mistrust at the electoral commission, part of which is already the subject of a court case following the suspension of Chief Executive Ezra Chiloba, may render the body dysfunctional.
From claims of doctored minutes to ignoring plenary decisions, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is under the spotlight once again casting doubt on whether it can deliver another election in its current shape.
For fear that whatever actions they take may be used again them in future, literally all communication between and among seniors staffers are through writing. Physical letters or emails, somewhat slowing down decision making process.
FISSURES
The officers, depending on their allegiance given the myriad fissures in the commission are engaged in sustained leaking of confidential information to either build or destroy as fashioned.
But in an effort to forestall the crisis, the commission chairman, Mr Wafula Chebukati, has called a crisis meeting tomorrow to try and find a common ground after his vice Connie Maina asked the CEO to disregard the suspension order.
Via a memo to the acting Chief Executive Marjan Hussein Marjan, directors and line managers, Mr Chebukati on Saturday asked them to attend a special meeting at 9am. He did not indicate the agenda of the meeting in which commissioners are expected.
While the chairman was supported by commissioners Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye in his decision to send the Mr Chiloba on leave, Ms Maina and Mr Paul Kurgat protested. Commissioner Margaret Mwachanya was away on official duty.
INTERNAL AUDIT
Mr Chebukati, however, remains confident that he is firmly on the wheel and would deliver the next general election.
He also said he has nothing personal towards Mr Chiloba, noting the commissioners’ work is oversight.
“There are those advocating for status quo in the commission and those willing to bring change. But I can assure you that the latter will carry the day. You saw how the project team I instituted did a fantastic job,” Mr Chebukati told the Sunday Nation, referring to last October’s controversial repeat elections.
The trouble between Mr Chebukati and Mr Chiloba started after an internal audit report was released prompting the commission to suspend the CEO to allow for proper investigations on the serious allegations raised in the report.
TAKE RISK
Sunday Nation has learnt that the management team is accused of doctoring minutes that had been passed by the commissioners to suit their agenda. Further, the directive by the plenary last year for an audit to be conducted on the servers has never taken off to date.
Accusations of servers’ alteration were at the heart of the petition that nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta’s election in August last year which led to a repeat election. It would appear that a cloud of fear cover the whole subject with no one willing to take the risk.
In January, during the commission’s retreat in Nyahururu, it was agreed that the commission makes an overhaul in the management team with clear terms of references that would put the commission on track towards delivering a credible poll in 2022. Mr Chebukati remained tight-lipped on such changes, instead saying the commission will continue delivering on its mandate.
However, sources within IEBC intimated to us that the proposal to overhaul the commission’s management is at the centre of the differences between Mr Chiloba and some commissioners.
POSTS SCRAPPED
An overhaul would see a number of heads and many other directors and middle-level managers now banking on the fight Mr Chiloba is mounting. Should he triumph, they too would be safe, they say.
If implemented, the changes could see the two positions of deputy chief executive scrapped among others. They are also hoping that the glaring divisions among commissions with Ms Maina leading a section of commissioners and the chairman another would help preserve the stalemate. The divisions saw commissioner Roselyn Akombe resign ahead of the repeat presidential elections last October.
On Friday, The Employment and Labour Relations Court declined to issue temporary orders sought by Mr Chiloba’s lawyers lifting the three month compulsory leave on the an account that the matter needed to be canvassed further.
It is not the first time Mr Chebukati is suspending the CEO.