Auditor General Nancy Gathungu on Wednesday, October 14, revealed that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) paid Ksh420 million to various legal representatives in the last financial year.
In the report, which was tabled in Parliament, the auditor also highlighted that an additional Ksh200 million in legal fees was yet to be paid.
“Failure to settle bills in the year to which they relate distorts the financial statements for the year,” Gathungu advised.
The review of the IEBC’s financial statements for the year ending June 2019, further detailed that a law firm linked to chairman Wafula Chebukati received Ksh812,000 during this period.
In terms of how the commission spent some of its allocated budget: Ksh3.38 million was spent on domestic travel, Ksh2.85 million on foreign travel, Ksh13.95 million on training costs and Ksh5.28 million on hospitality.
A further Ksh1.73 million was highlighted as having been spent on cleaning services during the year under review.
Gathungu went on to issue a warning in the state agency's financial health, citing the possibility of losing Ksh3.16 billion in assets due to accrued debt. the Auditor General also pointed out that the agency does not have accurate information of all the property and assets it owns.
The commission is yet to pay Ksh98.38 million for repair and maintenance of its printers and copiers, among numerous other accounts payable.
According to the Auditor General, IEBC is yet to resolve past audit queries, key among them being the purchase of the Kenya Integrated Election Management Systems (Kiems) kit and alleged mismanagement of 553 Thuraya modems and SIM cards.
She also stated that she was puzzled by the commission's failure to collect over Ksh260 million in court awarded costs relating to the 2017 general elections.
“No explanation has been provided for failure to collect promptly the taxed costs and for the delay of the capped costs,” Gathungu's report reads in part.
On October 8, Chebukati decried lack of funds as he presented the commission's annual report for 2019/2020.
"The commission has continued to maintain the KIEMS kits, Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) a System and Wide Area Network to enhance their re-usability in future elections,” the IEBC boss said, further highlighting the commission's financial state.
He went on to appeal to parliament and the National Treasury to provide funds for electoral activities throughout the electoral cycle.
