IEBC chairman Issack Hassan fights Sh4bn claim on him
What you need to know:
- The electoral organisation chief wants the court to direct the Auditor-General to delete the “untrue and misleading information” in Special Investigation Report.
- Mr Hassan says the auditor made false findings against him.
Electoral commission chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan has moved to court to block a possible Sh4 billion claim against him over irregularities in the procurement of biometric voter registration kits used in the last General Election.
Mr Hassan claims that the Auditor-General made adverse allegations against him in the Special Investigation Report on the Procurement of Electronic Voting Devices for 2013 General Election without giving him a chance to defend himself.
In papers filed at the High Court, he says the report, which he received on June 16, recommends a possible claim of euros 36,989,938 (Sh4.4 billion) against him, being the difference between the additional cost incurred above what Safran Morpho had quoted.
MISLEADING INFORMATION
The electoral organisation chief wants the court to direct the Auditor-General to delete the “untrue and misleading information” in the report.
Should the National Assembly adopt it, he seeks an order directing that the resolution of the House be amended to exclude the alleged false information.
“During the period the special audit was conducted, I was never interviewed neither was I called to give evidence, despite the fact that allegations had been made against me,” he says.
According to the Auditor-General’s report, as the chairman of a meeting of August 7, 2012 that paved the way for government-to-government acquisition of the devices, Mr Hassan allowed the presence of Mr Tim Colby, a Canadian official.
That set the ground for single sourcing of the Canadian government and Morpho Canada, which resulted to Kenya being supplied with the BVR kits at inflated prices, according to the report.
It further stated that Mr Hassan was, therefore, privy to the single sourcing for the machines. It recommended that in future, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission boss should ensure that election timelines were adhered to and avoid inviting strangers to important meetings.
However, Mr Hassan says the auditor made false findings against him. “I never invited Mr Tim Colby in the meeting held on August 7, 2012.” He said the meeting was an informal interaction between the government and the IEBC.
He said the meeting was attended by IEBC officers — himself, the vice-chairperson, the chief executive officer, the deputy CEO, all commissioners and government representatives.
