Five junior agency officials sent home

Five junior electoral agency officials are the latest casualties in the war chairman Wafula Chebukati and suspended CEO Ezra Chiloba.

The officers who include two secretaries, two personal assistants and a messenger were yesterday sent home in unclear circumstances. Unlike in the past where such action is done in writing, the 5 were ordered out of office by word of mouth.

In what appears like a crackdown on Chiloba associates, Acting CEO Marjan Hussen Marjan ordered the officers to leave before locking the office of Chiloba.

Marjan had summoned the 5 officers separately on Monday and advised them to consider taking any leave days. However by yesterday, 3 of the officers were in office when Marjan went to lock it.

"He (Marjan) found three officers in the office of Chiloba and asked them to find a different working station and not from the 6th floor," a senior official at IEBC who witnessed the incident said.

"Mr Marjan told the staff to help with duties in other offices until and when Mr Chiloba returns. He did not lock offices or chase anyone. It's simple institutional load balancing exercise." Andrew Limo, IEBC communication officer said

This came, just a day after the commission sought to repose two vehicles being used by Chiloba who is on a three month suspension. On Thursday IEBC disabled fuel cards used by Chiloba's drivers while a third vehicles used by one of the CEO's aides had its GK number plates plucked.

The fuel card of Chiloba was alter reinstated by the transport manager after Chiloba asked him to explain in writing why the action as taken.

The row escalated even after Chebukati in the two page memo, sought to justify the decision to send Chiloba on compulsory leave to pay way for an audit to the IEBC’s systems.

Ordinarily, Chebukati told the staff that their boss should have stepped aside once he was indicted by an internal audit but choose stay put, prompting him to act.

He accused Chiloba who has already moved to court to challenge the decision, of playing double standards by clinging to his office while under investigations, yet he had allegedly in the past asked staff under any probe to step aside.

“Again following the precedence set by the CS/CEO (Chiloba) as the champion of transparency, integrity and accountability in the commission in which he suspended staff on allegations touching in integrity, the plenary decision was in order,” the memo dated April 23 reads.

It adds; “Having set the standard it would have been good practice for the CS/CEO to have voluntarily stepped aside such queries were raised to allow unhindered investigations on the sue of finances allocated to the commission for use during the 2017 elections.”

The IEBC chairman told the staff that unlike in normal disciplinary action where an officer under suspension is put on half salary and deprived other privileges, the CE still enjoys his perks save for reporting to work.

“It’s important for staff to note that while suspension carried with it stoppage of salary and allowances, the CS/CEO still enjoys all his benefits for the period of his compulsory leave.”

Chebukati who is under pressure to resign from a cross section of the security including religious leaders and political party leaders, has vowed today and stay on.

Instead, the IEBC boss has reiterated his call last week to President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare the four vacancies in the commission and commence the process of replacing the three plus Roselyne Akombe who left last year.

“As I stated in the press release of 20, 1 April 2018, I wish to reiterate the commission will continue discharging its mandate as provided for in the Constitution and IEBC Act despite calls for our resignation by some individuals.”

He added “We hope the appointing authority (President) will invoke provisions of section 7A and commence proceedings leading to replacement of commissioners who voluntarily resigned from the commission.”

The memo is said to have been informed by the suspense and suspicion which has grappled the commission following the decision by Chebukati and Commissioners Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye to send Chiloba on a three month compulsory leave.

The fallout led to the resignation of Ms. Maina, Kurgat and Ms. Mwachanya in a protest that has left the commission crippled as it lacks the requisite quorum to run the IEBC affairs.

The IEBC boss further told the staff that he can’t trace the whereabouts of three commissioners who resigned from office last week.

Chebuakti says his former vice Cone Maina and Commissioners Paul Kurgat and Margaret Mwachanya have never reported to office since the 16th of April when they announced their exit.

“They have not reported to office up to now. The commission therefore has no idea where they are as a now,” he wrote in a memo to the staff yesterday.