Eyes on Tobiko for Chickengate verdict as IEBC chiefs exit
What you need to know:
- Director Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko has remained mum for more than two months after he received a file on the ‘Chickengate’ bribery scandal from the anti-graft agency on July 19.
- EACC had recommended prosecution of ex-CEO and three other junior electoral officials.
Attention now shifts to Director Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko after the electoral agency commissioners agreed on an exit payout without any word from his office.
Mr Tobiko has remained mum for more than two months after he received a file on the ‘Chickengate’ bribery scandal from the anti-graft agency on July 19.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had recommended the prosecution of the former CEO and three other junior officials at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) but exonerated top officials mentioned in a London court as having pocketed Sh52 million in bribes codenamed "chicken".
The public prosecutor was expected to either accept the EACC proposals to charge the four officials, return the file and order a fresh probe or close the file due to lack of watertight evidence.
Mr Tobiko declined to respond to our queries on the status of the Chickengate file. He had in July promised to “independently review” the file and make a decision “based on the facts, evidence and the law.”
SWEETHEART DEAL
The nine IEBC bosses on Friday struck a deal to resign from office and receive a hefty send-off pay under a newly amended law meant to reform the graft-tainted agency.
There are fears that once the commissioners leave office, it will be difficult to pursue them and recover the lost taxpayer cash as the sweetheart deal provides for a “dignified exit.”
Among the people the EACC found culpable in the bribery ring are former IEBC chief executive James Oswago, Trevy James Oyombra, the Kenyan agent for British printing firm Smith & Ouzman, former IEBC procurement officer Kenneth Karani, and Hamida Kibwana, an employee of the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya.
The anti-graft agency effectively cleared top bosses mentioned in the London court, including IEBC chairman Issack Hassan, sacked Energy secretary Davis Chirchir and lawyer Kennedy Nyaundi (both ex-commissioners).
The UK’s Serious Fraud Office, in court papers, directly mentioned an eight-member "chicken" gang, saying they inflated printing contracts by up to 38 per cent mainly to cater for the kickbacks.
