Report reveals genesis of Chebukati, Chiloba fight

The preliminary report of an audit ordered by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has opened the lid on the rot at the electoral agency.

The report points to systemic failure of a commission that has not known tranquillity since the 2013 elections.

The report, which was made public on Friday after chairman Wafula Chebukati filed it in court in response to the contempt suit he is facing from chief executive Ezra Chiloba, reveals the soft underbelly of elections in Kenya.

GRAVY TRAIN

Whereas the country has in the last few years invested heavily in elections, arguing that properly managed polls guarantee stability, the report reveals elections are a gravy train for officials at the commission.
The audit ordered by Mr Chebukati following the suspension of Mr Chiloba from office last April has revealed there was inflation of costs, turf wars and outright fraud or even dereliction of duty among secretariat staff.
The report clearly reveals that there are two centres of power and that Mr Chiloba saw himself as the ultimate authority.

Mr Chebukati was responding to an application filed by Mr Chiloba who wants the IEBC boss and the other two commissioners, Mr Boya Molu and Mr Abdi Guliye, jailed for contempt of court.
The court had issued orders that Mr Chiloba be reinstated pending the hearing of the application.
Mr Chebukati presented the report in court to justify his refusal to allow the chief executive to resume his duties.

BUNGLED POLL
Since the Supreme Court annulled the outcome of the August presidential election, Mr Chebukati and Mr Chiloba have been fighting in public, with the chairman accusing the secretariat of having played a significant role in bungling the poll.

The tiff started immediately Mr Chebukati called a press conference to respond to the Supreme Court verdict.

He not only laid blame on the secretariat, but also promised a change of guard, which he started immediately through a series of memos.

According to the report, Mr Chiloba was seemingly working with forces outside the commission to direct the outcome of the elections.

SEMINAR INVITATION

For example, the report cites the case where Ms Margaret Mwachanya, the commissioner who has since resigned alongside Ms Connie Maina (vice-chair) and Paul Kurgat, was invited for a top executive seminar organised by the London Graduate School in Dubai.
The invitation letter was received in Chebukati’s office on March 19, who forwarded it to the Director Human Resources and Administration’s office for advice.

The HR director marked the letter and forwarded it to the Manager, Commission’s Services, who, upon receipt, wrote a memo to Mr Chiloba seeking approval for facilitation.
Mr Chiloba expressly approved the process without reverting to the chairman, who had only asked for advice on the relevance of the seminar, not action.

The fact that a commissioner could undertake a foreign trip without the approval or reference to the chairman demonstrates the friction between officials.

Early in May, Mr Chebukati appeared before the Public Accounts Committee soon after the three commissioners had resigned and complained that the National Treasury had refused to respond to his letter asking that salaries of the officials be stopped.

He added that none of the three had surrendered the assets of the commission, including official vehicles, security and laptops.

UNHAPPY COMMISSIONERS
A source at the commission told the Sunday Nation that some commissioners are unhappy that the Treasury has not offered its full support even as they seek to implement accountability.

Another case captured in the report is that of missing handwritten minutes of plenary meetings.

Although two booklets were provided to the audit committee containing the minutes, those of the 170, 172, 174, 179, 182, 196, 197, 200, 201, 202, and 203 were missing.

The audit established that even though the plenary minutes of the 172, and 174 and 179 meeting were sent to the chief executive in soft copy, they were still missing.

It further established that the minutes of 196, 205, 210, 221 plenary, though signed and approved, were also missing, and the committee recommends that Mr Chiloba should be made to produce the minutes.

ELECTION COST

The audit shows that the comparative analysis of the cost of components for the supply, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning and support of the Kiems during the August 2017 General Election and provision for election technology support for the repeat poll indicated a difference of Sh1.67 billion.

It shows that whereas the cost of the August 8 General Election was Sh4.2 billion, that of the repeat presidential election was Sh2.5 billion.

The audit committee found the new figure to be on the higher side considering the General Election involved acquisition of hardware, configuration, training, and logistics.

“The repeat presidential poll required purchase of a minimal number of hardware and support was for the presidential candidates only. This is compared to six election positions during the General Election,” the audit reports says.

The audit was conducted by a committee established by Mr Chebukati. It was chaired by the Director of Audit, Risk and Compliance, Obadiah Keitany, assisted by Mr Reuben Chirchir, Mr Fred Kariuki, Mr George Ongudi, Mr Gladys Mwangi and Mr Fred Kariuki as members.

“Specifically, the cost of the repeat presidential election day support was almost twice that of the General Election yet the repeat poll was not conducted in some constituencies while training costs went up by Sh78.9 million. There is no assurance that value for money was obtained,” the report states.

The committee established that the cost of Kiems kit preparation and set terms of reference component was quoted exorbitantly at Sh811 million, and the committee established this should not have been incurred had training as per agreement dated March 31, 2017 been conducted.

The training content of the system administrator’s training during the General Election was to include loading hardware with electoral data.

The committee wants Mr Chiloba to explain reasons for the acquisition of services from SIS Morpho at high prices during the repeat poll as required under Section 149 of the Public Finance Management Act.

With regard to the Kiems preparations which cost the commission Sh50 million for logistics and production support, the committee wants the CEO to explain whether the contract on logistics was in place for the commission at that time to perform distribution and did not in any way amount to loss of funds.