What awaits Marjan Hussein at the IEBC

The electoral commission yesterday confirmed Marjan Hussein Marjan as its Chief Executive Officer as it seeks to put its house in order with just five months to the General Election.

The hot seat has been vacant since October 2018 when the then CEO, Mr Ezra Chiloba, was bundled out acrimoniously, after which Mr Marjan took over in an acting capacity.

Yesterday, the Chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Mr Wafula Chebukati, said Mr Marjan emerged as the best candidate out of the five shortlisted from 511 applicants who responded to the advertisement published in local newspapers in December, 2021.

“The commission congratulates Marjan on his appointment as the Secretary/CEO of the IEBC,” said Mr Chebukati.

Among those who had been shortlisted were electoral and governance expert Zephaniah Aura, Mombasa County IEBC boss Nancy Kariuki, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) Director Joel Mabonga and management expert George Michugu.

An uphill task now awaits Mr Marjan, who will be in charge of the secretariat at the electoral agency as it prepares for the 2022 General Election, which is already showing signs of being hotly contested at all the six elective levels. Battle lines have been drawn at the presidential level with two aspirants emerging as front-runners and each expecting the commission to declare him winner come August.

Mr Marjan’s predecessors were hounded out of office over multi-billion shilling tenders.

Now, Mr Marjan must steer the IEBC ship with skill or it will be sunk by the weight of high expectations by politicians.

Prior to Mr Chiloba’s exit, he was found culpable of charges emanating from an internal audit report on major procurement during the 2017 General Election and the subsequent repeat presidential election held in October of that year.

When asked to defend himself, Mr Chiloba - now CEO of the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) - snubbed summons to appear before a disciplinary hearing of the commission with regards to a post-election spending audit. He would then go ahead to announce his sacking via social media, accusing unnamed forces of witch-hunt.

“My employment with the IEBC has officially been terminated. This does not come as a surprise to Kenyans who have been monitoring the events at the IEBC in the last six months,” wrote Mr Chiloba on Twitter.

Mr Chiloba had taken over the hot seat from his embattled predecessor, Major (retired) James Oswago.

Mr Oswago is currently fighting a court case in which it is alleged that he and other IEBC staff were bribed by two directors of a UK company, Smith & Ouzman, to award the firm a ballot papers printing tender. The case came to be infamously referred to as the “Chickengate Scandal” because the kickbacks had been christened “chicken”.

Found guilty

The two directors were found guilty in the UK, jailed in 2016 and their company fined. They have since completed their jail terms even as the Kenya case drags on.

Now that he has been confirmed, Mr Marjan will have to walk a tightrope given that the electoral agency finds itself at the centre of two court battles challenging procurement of the Kenya Integrated Electoral Management System (KIEMS) kit and ballot papers printing tenders.

With the rulings of the cases expected later this month, the court’s decision could bolster or destabilise the commission’s preparedness for the August 9 elections.

Petitioners Stephen Mirambo and Boaz Akuru had moved to court seeking the consolidation of the two critical tender cases involving IEBC ahead of the 2022 elections. The KIEMS kits and ballot papers printing are two integral components of the election and the delay in the procuring of the two could affect the credibility of the election results.

The KIEMS kit tender includes the supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning, support and maintenance of software and hardware and accessories for running of the election. The winner of tender will need time to prepare and ensure there are no gaps that could lead to the results being challenged in court.

Tender wars at the agency have threatened to throw the tight-scheduled election timelines into disarray.

Several companies have challenged the award of the supply of KIEMS kits to a Dutch firm, Smartmatic, and ballot printing tender award to a Greek firm, Inform P Lykos Holdings.

Inform P Lykos Holdings was picked from a pool of 12 companies that bid for the supply of ballot papers for 23 million voters who will elect candidates for six different seats. A three-year open international tender would also see the firm provide election results declaration forms to be used at the constituency, county and national tallying centre.

Inform P Lykos Holdings had beat other firms such as the Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing LLC, United Printing and Publishing LLC and Masar Printing and Publishing and Kenya’s Ellams Products Limited and Africa Infrastructure Development Company.

Others are United Kingdom’s Go Inspire Solutions and TALL Security Print Limited, UNIPINT, a division of Insidedata (South) PTY LTD, Aerovote Security Print and Electoral Supplies (Ghana), Seshaasai Business Forms PVT Ltd (India) and Kwanginsa Company Ltd (South Korea).

Activist Okiya Omtatah moved to court to challenge the award of ballot printing tender to the Greek firm.

Another petitioner, Risk Africa Innovatis Limited, has challenged the award of the KIEMS kit tender to Smartmatic, arguing that the data migration was not budgeted for at the time the tender was floated. Risk Africa Innovatis Limited claims that the procurement was not done with a fully constituted commission as there were only three commissioners at the time they tender was procured.

The petitioners also questioned the integrity of Smartmatic, arguing that the company left other jurisdictions  including the Philippines, Venezuela, Uganda, Nigeria and the US under a cloud of suspicion.

Prior to being appointed acting CEO, Mr Marjan was the Deputy Commission Secretary for Support Services, a job he took up in April 2015.

He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a certified Information System Auditor (CISA), a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), a Certified Quality Assessor (CQA), and has a Certification in Control Self-Assessment (CCSA).

He holds a Master’s degree in Business Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce.