By Charles Ngeno and Ben Ahenda

Nairobi, Kenya: The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is, once again, in a spot over delayed payment for services rendered before and during the March 4 elections.

Electoral officials, trainers and drivers who were hired to facilitate the last general election in Narok West and Nakuru Town West constituencies have claimed IEBC regional offices are either intentionally dragging feet or unwilling to release their dues, months after the services were rendered.

In Narok, presiding officers, their deputies, clerks and drivers stormed IEBC regional office in Bomet yesterday demanding to be paid. They had also stormed the offices on Friday on similar mission, when they demanded to be addressed by South Rift IEBC senior official Sarah Okaro.

Worried lot

Yesterday, they claimed their counterparts from Bomet and Kericho counties were paid but IEBC officials in their region were taking them in circles.

“We are worried. These officials are using divide and rule tactics by paying a few clerks and drivers in our team to silence the rest, which forms the majority of us,” said one of the clerks.

They blamed the commission of reneging on its promise to pay them after the Supreme Court ruling on the presidential petition. They accused Narok West constituency IEBC coordinator Jackton Okubasu of ‘always being out of office’ to dodge them.

“We are tired of the delays,” said Weldon Bett, who was a presiding officer.

Efforts to contact Okaro for comments were futile as she did not pick her phone neither did she respond to our SMSs sent to her.

The Long wait

And in Nakuru Town East, 29 election trainers have expressed fears of losing their allowances.?? They said IEBC is not interested or is not in a hurry to pay them.??

Leslie Olonyi, one of the trainers who spoke to The Standard, claimed the situation has reduced them to beggars. ? “Despite rendering our services professionally, IEBC seems not in a hurry to pay us, yet we have bills to meet. We have waited for too long and whenever we approach IEBC officials for an explanation, we are dismissed.”

Contacted, IEBC official Ekwam admitted the trainers have not received their allowances and referred us to the Central Rift election coordinator Ali Ibrahim, who said the delay has been occasioned by bureaucracies at the Treasury and called on all those who worked for IEBC to be patient as the matter is being sorted out.