Troubled IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba, who was sent on compulsory leave to allow for an audit of major procurements, has revealed that he had major differences with Chairman Wafula Chebukati that harmed their working relationship.
In a suit to block his suspension, Chiloba stated that he disagreed with his boss on; assignment of duties to staff, procurement of the Kiems kits, ballot papers and handling of other tenders.
“I have all along enjoyed excellent working relations with both the staff of the commission and the commissioners….until around April 2017, when differences of opinion began to emerge between the Secretariat, the chairman and some commissioners,” he divulged.
The tenders that drove a wedge between Chebukati and him included; provision of satellite phones for the transmission of results the servers from IBM to host the biometric voter register, the hosting of the Kiems database and the provision of communication services by Scanad.
[caption caption="Wafula Chebukati and Ezra Chiloba"]
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In March, the embattled CEO admitted that the electoral body made some glaring mistakes in the 2013 General Election.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly, Chiloba stated that the Ksh50 Million paid as cost of transporting election materials in 2013 polls was a fraud as the numbers were inflated.
This is after it emerged that the firm contracted to transport the materials was registered in 2014 yet the payments were made in 2013.
Elsewhere, Members of Parliament are set to summon Chebukati to explain the audit queries and determine whether the decision to suspend Chiloba was justified.
Public Accounts Committee Chairman Opiyo Wandayi maintained that the fallout at the IEBC was a manifestation of stealing of public resources, adding that an explanation was needed.
Wandayi stated: “We may want to hear from the chairman, particularly if there are any audit issues concerning the matters we have been interrogating that have not been disclosed to us.”
The committee also summoned former IEBC chairman Isaack Hassan and former CEO James Oswago to appear and explain why expenditure of public funds was marred by misuse.
[caption caption="Wafula Chebukati"]
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