New revelations have emerged on an April 6 meeting of IEBC commissioners that resolved to send Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba on compulsory leave.
Insiders spoke to The Nation on the drama that characterized the meeting held at the Great Rift Valley Lodge.
The 2-day seminar had been organized by the Public Procurement Oversight Authority and saw the IEBC team review ways to stem huge losses incurred by the Treasury due to inflated or contested contracts.
Once all official business was done, IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati called a caucus to discuss a growing crisis at the commission occasioned by Chiloba who was on a 3 month leave.
Vice-chair Connie Maina and commissioner Paul Kurgat who resigned on Monday were strongly opposed to Chebukati's proposal to send Chiloba home to allow for a probe into botched procurement processes surrounding the 2017 election.
[caption caption="Paul Kurgat, Margaret Mwachanya and Connie Maina announcing their resignation on Monday"]
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Margaret Mwachanya who resigned along with the 2 commissioners was in Dubai at the time and questioned how such a weighty issue could be discussed in her absence.
Chebukati, Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu backed the proposal fully, splitting the commission down the middle.
Nkatha and Kurgat reportedly walked out of the meeting in protest before announcing their resignations a few days later at a Nairobi hotel.
"There was raw anger. People were angry, and they all wanted answers. Every one of us said what we felt in a raw chat, not minuted, but very critical all the same. We all spoke, each saying what they felt,” an unnamed commissioner is quoted.
In a shocking new development; Chebukati, Guliye and Molu had their security withdrawn on Tuesday evening.
“The withdrawal of security is likely to expose the chairman and the two commissioners to security risk. The action undermines their effectiveness in executing the work of the commission,” a statement from IEBC Communications Manager Andrew Limo read in part.
[caption caption="IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati"]
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