IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati has suspended CEO Ezra Chiloba.
It is understood that the chairman and three other commissioners asked Chiloba to go home “because of procurement issues”. It was not immediately clear yesterday what the issues are, although Chebukati has previously raised questions regarding a number of technology-related procurements.
According to sources within the commission, Chebukati wants a number of issues investigated while Chiloba is away.
By 7 pm last evening, Chiloba had not returned a call to the Star as promised.
The effect of the move is to destabilise the commission, which is to conduct vital boundaries delineation with implications for the next election. It makes work difficult or impossible because the CEO by law makes the day-to-day decisions; other commissioners cannot. It creates fear in the commission that others may be targetted.
Chebukati and Chiloba have not had a cordial working relationship since the CEO resumed work this year.
The Opposition has demanded Chiloba's removal, saying he rigged the bungled August 8 election, in which Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner.
It said he could not be trusted to oversee the October 26 presidential rerun.
Chiloba had taken leave from mid-October and only resumed work in January. Commission sources said the two were not seeing eye to eye and rarely spoke to each other.
Read: Ezra Chiloba, two others take leave from IEBC ahead of polls
The decision to send Chiloba packing was made last week. Attempts to serve him with the suspension letter on Friday failed because the CEO had left his office before the letter was delivered.
“It was taken to his office but the secretary refused to receive it and insisted that the bearer should serve her boss himself,” a senior IEBC official said.
Commissioner in charge of Human resources Boya Molu is expected to hand Chiloba the letter this morning.
According to Chebukati’s personal assistant Wilfred Lusi, the IEBC boss flew out of the country to Nigeria on Saturday and will back on Friday.
Three commissioners — Chebukati, Abdi Guliye and Molu — reportedly made decision that has divided the commission and sent panic throughout the secretariat.
Two commissioners — vice chair Consolata Maina and Paul Kurgat — are reported to have opposed the decision. Maina is said to have protested the move and stormed out of the meeting, saying she would not be party to the decision.
Yesterday Maina said she had left early on Friday and didn't know about any commission resolution to suspend the CEO. “The best person to call is the chairman,” Maina said.
Chebukati’s phone was off most of the day and text messages went unanswered. On Saturday he had flown to Nigeria and was to return on Friday.
All the other commissioners, including Molu who is in charge of Human Resources issues, did not return calls or text messages seeking comment.
Multiple sources within the commission told the Star yesterday that Chiloba’s suspension could mark the start of radical changes at the commission.
In December last year the commissioners went to Naivasha on a retreat in which they made wide ranging recommendations.
Among other things, the commissioners agreed to cut down a number of directorates and also reduce the managers.
Chebukati has not been on good terms with Chiloba since the Supreme Court annulled the August 8 election, citing massive irregularities and illegalities.
Since then Chebukati tried unsuccessfully to force out Chiloba and the opposition alliance NASA accused the CEO of working for Jubilee to steal elections.
Two leaked confidential memos by Chebukati in the lead-up to the repeat presidential poll last year made waves at the IEBC and further exposed the differences between the chair, other commissioners and Chiloba.
In one memo Chebukati instructed Chiloba to suspend three officials believed to have messed up the August 8 voting. Chiloba did not implement the directive.
The officials Chebukati wanted fired before the rerun were ICT director James Muhati, coordinator Paul Mugo and officer Boniface Wamae.
The memo cited "some ICT staff who were incompetent or deliberately and grossly misconducted themselves by carrying out acts of malpractice."
Also read:Chiloba among IEBC staff NASA wants kicked out before polls
[VIDEO] Chiloba and Kassait are innocent, Tuju says, defends IEBC over ballot tender row
In a quick rejoinder, the electoral agency on its Twitter page, said it was regrettable the information was leaked.
"The new leaked doc [sic] was internal and still under discussion by the Commission. No final decision has been taken on the issues. Regrettable," the agency said.
This followed leaking of a 12-point memo from Chebukati to Chiloba, demanding answers to problems leading to nullification of the vote.
The explosive memo contained details of how the commission purchased satellite phones worth Sh848 million for results transmission — they never worked.
The 12 concerns, mostly violations of electoral procedures in results transmission, escalated the falling out between Chebukati and Chiloba.
In a threat to the rerun, some of the commissioners rejected the memo, saying it was not discussed in the plenary and the chairman acted on his own.
The commissioners and Chiloba retreated to Naivasha where they said they had resolved their differences and would then focus on management of the fresh election.
"These leakages are certainly not done in the interest of the commission or the country. The repeated unauthorised disclosures clearly undermine the authority and standing of the commission,” Chebukati said after the retreat.
Following the run-ins at the commission, Chiloba took a ‘personal decision’ to go on an extended leave, just days to the repeat poll on October 26.
The official had been under tremendous pressure from NASA to resign, with flagbearer Raila Odinga calling for street protests to force him and other key officials out of office.
Raila had accused Chiloba and some electoral officials of mismanaging the bungled August 8 election.
A tough-talking Chebukati had also demanded that officials mentioned “adversely" after the annulled presidential election step aside, saying the next election on October 26 would not be credible with them in office.
The Supreme Court, which received the presidential petition, said it had found no evidence of wrongdoing by any IEBC officials but politicians complained and accused the commission of rigging the election, bungling and stealing votes.
A civil servants' union had launched a court fightback to save Chiloba and five officials from being sacked, arguing there was no basis to hound them out, as the Supreme Court ruling did not apportion blame to specific individuals.
Chiloba later disowned the union through sworn affidavits in court.
After the annulment of the August 8 presidential poll, NASA had demanded the sacking of Chiloba, Prof Guliye, who headed the sub-committee on research, strategy and ICT; and ICT director James Muhati.
Others were voter registration and electoral operations director Immaculate Kassait, head of legal department Praxedes Tororey and former head of operations Betty Nyabuto.
In a radical move, Chebukati then named the project team to oversee the repeat polls, isolating Chiloba and top electoral officials.
Among those named was one of Chiloba’s deputies Marjan Hussein who was appointed head of the special team, with David Towett put in charge of operations.
Other members were Albert Gogo who was responsible for election technology, while Dr Sidney Namulungu was put in charge of the tallying centres.
Tabitha Mutemi took care of communications and outreach, while Agatha Wahome was in charge of finance, procurement and administration. Salome Oyugi was responsible for legal affairs and compliance.
“I have unveiled the team today and those officials not on the list will not take part in the preparations for the October 26 election,” Chebukati said at the time.
Related: Chebukati demands answers from Chiloba as IEBC election fallout deepens
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