Leaked Chebukati memos reveal infighting in electoral body

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati. The commission has said a leaked memo on suspension of some of its ICT officials is still under discussion. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The electoral commission is yet again embroiled in an intense in-house fighting even as the country waits for the detailed judgement from the Supreme Court on why it nullified win by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

In the memo, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chairperson Wafula Chebukati ordered for the suspension of the ICT director James Muhati, ICT coordinator Paul Mugo and ICT officer Boniface Wamae.

The commission however through its Twitter handle Tuesday evening said the leaked memo was still under discussion.

BLAME GAME

“The new leaked document was internal and still under discussion by the commission. No final decision has been taken on the issues,” read the tweet.

There has been blame game among the officials of the commission following the nullification of presidential results by the Supreme Court with Mr Chebukati demanding answers from CEO Ezra Chiloba on the bungled elections.

In the memo leaked Tuesday, Mr Chebukati states the move to suspend the ICT staff is aimed at restoring public confidence as the commission prepares itself to conduct the repeat of the presidential election scheduled for October 17.

INVESTIGATIONS

“The chairperson as the national returning officer, therefore demands the officers in the ICT directorate be immediately suspended in accordance with the enabling laws and IEBC’s HR and administration manual to facilitate full and proper investigations,” reads part of the leaked memo.

Mr Chebukati in the first leaked memo on September 7, directed Mr Chiloba to explain why some election result forms lacked security features, explain the purchase of satellite phones that never worked and why hundreds of polling stations did not send results of the presidential election to the national tallying centre.

He also demanded an explanation on how an account created in his name was used to log into the elections management system thousands of times.