The sudden exit of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chief executive officer (CEO) Hussein Marjan has laid bare the perilous nature of the lucrative position that is fast becoming a revolving door.
Mr Marjan's exit has once again placed the commission under intense scrutiny as it enters yet another period of transition at a moment when public trust in electoral institutions remains fragile.
The 46-year-old now becomes the third occupant of the Commission’s top administrative office to leave without fanfare before the expiry of their contracts.
Described as “termination of services by mutual consent”, the exit of the University of Nairobi alumnus backs a growing trend which has claimed the heads of Ezra Chiloba and James Oswago.
At the heart of previous exits has been the battle for lucrative tenders – running into billions of shillings – for procurement of election materials, which have ended in the corridors of justice.
The IEBC Secretariat is the administrative arm responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Commission.
The CEO wields power over nine directors in charge of the same number of directorates and 17 managers managing a similar number of departments, among other staff.
Former IEBC CEOs from left Hussein Marjan, Ezra Chiloba and James Oswago.
Photo credit: Nation Media Group
Mr Marjan has been around the corridors of the Anniversary Towers since 2015 when he joined the electoral agency as deputy Commission’s Secretary in charge of Support Services.
He later became the acting CEO in September 2017 following the tumultuous exit of his predecessor, Mr Chiloba, whose departure was punctuated with an ugly fallout with the late IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati.
The certified accountant acted for almost five years before being confirmed in March 2022, as the substantive CEO from a shortlist of five candidates.
Coming less than two years to the 2027 elections, scrutiny will follow the decision to move on from the man who was the last man standing from the team that delivered the controversial 2022 elections.
But the fact remains that Mr Marjan follows the footsteps of his predecessors Mr Chiloba and Mr Oswago, whose tenures at what is proving to be a hot seat were marked with a myriad of controversies.
Last month that Wiper Patriotic Front party leader Kalonzo Musyoka led a push by the United Opposition to have Mr Marjan removed from office before the end of his term.
The former vice president claimed the 2027 elections will not be free and fair if Mr Marjan continues to be in office.
“Mr Marjan cannot be trusted to preside over the 2027 General Election. He should be paid the one-year remaining in his contract. Elections won’t be free and fair if he is there,” said Mr Musyoka.
But the allegations by Mr Musyoka lifts the lid on a troubled office that has seen previous office holders exit unceremoniously.
Although not restricted to a single six-year term that applies to commissioners, none of the IEBC CEOs have lasted long enough to even consider their contracts being renewed.
EX-IEBC CEO Marjan Hussein during the launch of the Anti-Corruption Strategic Guiding Framework for Kenya's Justice Sector at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi on March 25, 2025.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Acting as the Secretary to the Commission, a contract of a CEO is not explicitly capped by the Constitution at one term, allowing for contract renewals.
Mr Marjan assumed the position in March 2022 after joining the Commission as deputy CEO in April 2015.
But before him, Mr Chiloba’s exit – which was as dramatic as his short stay in office – played out in public after he was first suspended by the late Chebukati and former Commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu.
The fallout between Mr Chebukati and Mr Chiloba was so acrimonious that the latter was locked out of his office with a lock to his office door after word got out he might be back in office.
The suspension letter indicated that Mr Chiloba was suspended pending the completion of a comprehensive audit of all major procurements relating to the August 8, 2017 General Election as well as the repeat election held on October 26, 2017.
He was first sent on compulsory leave in April 2018 before being suspended two months later on June 14, before eventually being sacked on October 12, 2018. He had assumed office in 2015.
Mr Chiloba, however, contested his suspension in court arguing that his employment was wrongfully terminated, demanding at least Sh52.5 million as compensation for the decision to sack him.
In his statement dated October 12, 2018, Mr Chiloba said the termination of his employment with the IEBC “does not come as a surprise to Kenyans who have been monitoring the events at IEBC in the last six months’.
“The outcome was already pre-determined and the process was a mere formality. My employment termination should not be seen as an issue of my person but that of the holder of the office. It brings to focus the major governance crisis at the IEBC; an issue that will affect even the next office holder if the matter is not addressed,” he said.
The exit of Mr Oswago was more pronounced as he was dragged to court in what came to be known as “the Chicken gate” scandal.
Mr Oswago had assumed office as IEBC interim CEO in November, 2011 before being confirmed to the position but left office three months to the expiry of his term in August 2014.
The scandal involved British security printing firm, Smith & Ouzman, being found guilty of paying bribes amounting to Sh47 million to secure a tender for provision of ballot papers for IEBC’s predecessor, the Interim Independent Electoral Commission.
Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission CEO James Oswago.
Photo credit: Joseph Wangui | Nation Media Group
Mr Oswago was accused of flouting procurement laws in the procurement of electronic voter identification devices (Evid) that were used in the 2013 General Election, a process that the court said was neither transparent nor accountable.
He was accused of using his office to improperly confer a benefit on Face Technologies Limited by approving payment of Sh1.39 billion for the supply of Evids without ascertaining that the devices supplied were inspected, accepted and met the technical specifications in the contract.
Nonetheless, IEBC has been dogged by scandals every election cycle. In the run-up to the 2017 General Election, the electoral agency was embroiled in procurement scandal where it was alleged it bought some items at three times the market rate even as it paid for materials that were delivered long after the election had ended.
At the centre of the saga was Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing LLC, a Dubai-based company, which printed and delivered ballot papers despite a myriad of court cases.
The tender wars pitted the late Chebukati and Mr Chiloba. The Al Ghurair contract was signed just days after IEBC’s then head of procurement Lawy Aura was sent packing “with immediate effect” for declining to give a favourable opinion on the proposed award to Ghurair.
At the end, the contract for printing of ballot papers went through open tender, restricted tender then direct procurement.
IEBC has in the past single-sourced most of key election materials. For instance, Smith & Ouzman, Al Ghurair and OT Morpho (Idemia) were all single sourced, often at the last minute, thus giving no room to carry out sufficient checks on the beneficiary firms.
In the 2013 elections, the procurement of biometric voter registers and the Evid was disrupted by tender wars that consumed IEBC staff and commissioners.
In the run up to 2017 elections, again Safran Morpho which had rebranded to OT Morpho got the tender for Kiems kit and overall technology works again through direct procurement following vicious bidder rivalries.
Meanwhile in the tender for ballot paper printing, several fights at the Public Procurement Administration and Review Board and the courts ended up with the commission controversially settling on Dubai’s Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing LLC for the Sh2.5 billion tender.
Audit reports following the 2017 elections also revealed a number of tenders that were directly awarded to firms. For instance, Africa Neurotech Systems Ltd was paid Sh165.8 million through direct procurement for expansion of the storage infrastructure for primary and secondary data centres by 50 terabytes. Even though the tender was for the 2017 elections, the company delivered in January 2018, five months after the elections.
