Eyebrows Raised as Two Confused IEBC Officials Resume Work

Two electoral commissioners who resigned in a huff early this year have rescinded their decisions and returned to work yesterday, raising questions.

IEBC

Ms Connie Maina, who until April was the vice chairperson, and Ms Margaret Mwachanya made an unexpected return to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission yesterday, throwing everything into a spin after their resignations on April 16.

The two, alongside Mr Paul Kurgat, had quit the commission in anger, questioning chairman Wafula Chebukati’s leadership style after he suspended CEO Ezra Chiloba over mismanagement of the last two presidential elections.

Sources have also revealed that Mr. Kurgat plans to make a comeback on Monday.

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The three reportedly exploited the loopholes of a judgement delivered by Justice Winfrida Okwany in a petition to reclaim the positions they occupied during last year’s tumultuous presidential elections, one of which was nullified by the Supreme Court.

The judge had ruled that their resignation was unprocedural as they did not write to the appointing authority.

Ms Maina and Ms Mwachanya stormed the commission Friday, saying they are effectively still in office despite having announced their resignations during a high profile press conference.

While the commission’s spokesman Andrew Limo confirmed the presence of the two at the commission for the better part of yesterday, he said he didn’t know the nature of their mission. The move has, however, raised fears the two were merely twisting the judgment to atone for the tactical blunders that led to their resignations. “They came this morning. They wanted to see the chairman but I am not sure on the nature of the business,” Mr Limo said yesterday.

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Sources said the two arrived at the commission mid-morning and went to the office of Mr Chebukati, who left after refusing to see them describing them as strangers whom he could only meet on appointment.

They then walked to the office of commissioner Abdi Guliye where they held a meeting for about three hours. Also in the meeting was the Acting CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan. Details of the meeting were not available by the time of going to press.

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While resigning, the three commissioners had said they had no faith in Mr Chebukati and that under his leadership “the commission boardroom has become a venue for peddling misinformation, grounds for brewing mistrust and a space for scrambling for and chasing individual glory and credit”.

They said the commission, which has been at war since the lead-up to August 8, 2017 election, has become dysfunctional due to external interference.

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