A day after the three commissioners from the Kenyan electoral agency body (IEBC) resigned, the chair of the commission Wafula Chebukati dismissed their resignation as proof of their inability to accommodate divergent views.
In a statement released on Monday, Chebukati defended himself from the accusations that had been put forth by the trio saying that the controversial decision to have IEBC chief executive officer Ezra Chiloba sent on compulsory leave was taken procedurally with three out of five commissioners voting in favour of the motion.
Chebukati alongside Commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu supported the motion which was precipitated by an internal audit that unearthed non-adherence to procurement laws and plenary guidelines in the award and execution of five tenders in the period leading to last year’s elections.
Chebukati also said Vice-Chairperson Consolata Nkatha, and Commissioners Paul Kurgat and Margaret Mwachanya were yet to surrender public assets assigned to them despite having announced their resignations.
“The real reason for their resignation is the plenary resolution to hold the Commission Secretary (CEO) to account,” he said.
According to Chebukati the resigning commissioners had a chance through a crisis meeting held in Naivasha on April 13 to air their grievances but they did not. He added they would have also introduced a motion to ask the commission chairperson to review the plenary decision.
The three have also accused the chairman of being antagonistic and self-seeking
‘’ Under his leadership, the commission boardroom has become a venue for peddling misinformation, grounds for brewing mistrust and a space for scrambling for and chasing individual glory and credit’’, the group said in a statement.
The IEBC chairperson has however assured Kenyans that all scheduled by-elections will proceed uninterrupted since he had gazetted names of respective returning officers as required by law.
