Former IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba announced Friday evening in a tweet that his employment at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has been terminated.
“I received the employment termination letter signed by the chairman about an hour ago. The letter claims that I had twice been invited to appear before the disciplinary committee of the commission, but failed to show up, hence the decision to terminate my employment,” Mr Chiloba said in a statement posted on twitter.
Chiloba’s sack elicited many reactions with many people suggesting that Chiloba’s sacking was long overdue and ought to have happened immediately after the Supreme Court nullified the August 8, 2017 presidential election.
During the first round of the elections held in August last year, Ezra Chiloba was seen as a voice of the Jubilee government and their main point man for that matter. The CEO strongly defended decisions made by the electoral commission and did not take into account nor cared to act on the concerns raised by the opposition party, NASA through its officials like Musalia Mudavadi and James Orengo.
Chiloba was synonymous with the form 34 B and even got a nickname “form 34 bae” from the ladies who fell in love with the way he pronounced the letter “B”
He was a great man of the people, a man viewed as a visionary and straight forward young man by some masses. He was loved and hated in equal measure.
Fast foward, Ezra Chiloba is now sacked from the IEBC. This is after previously being suspended twice. The people he fought so hard to ensure got power are silent on the matter. It’s like they do not know that someone by the name Ezra Chiloba still exists. Ezra Chiloba is carrying his own cross and not even his once so called ‘boss friend’ Mr. Wafula Chebukati wants him at Anniversary Towers. Is Ezra Chiloba heading the Samuel Kivuitu route? Used, dumped and forgotten?
Senior political analyst Dkt. Edward Kisiang’ani believes that Ezra Chiloba might have been hoodwinked to think there was permanent war between Nasa and Jubilee. He might have thought he was assisting one faction against the other.
The tragedy with my brother Chiloba is he might have bn hoodwinked to think there was permanent war between Nasa n Jubilee. He might have thought he was assisting one faction against the other. But who cares? Nasa n Jubilee, Raila n Uhuru are now friends. Ezra pole.
— Edward Kisiang’ani (@ekisiangani) October 13, 2018
The previously warring factions now see eye to eye and Mr. Chiloba has no one nor nowhere to run to except to his home for an early retirement as Raila Junior put’s it.
Some sections of Kenyans have also called for the complete overhaul of the electoral body with many arguing that Mr. Chiloba did not make decisions alone. The mess at the IEBC was caused by the entire commission. Mr. Wafula Chebukati together with the other remaining commissioners should therefore be very worried about their job.