IEBC suspends five officials over electoral misconduct

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati [Samson Wire,Standard]

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has suspended five officials over their involvement in irregular voter transfer.

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chubukati stated that his office had forwarded their report to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for further investigations into their misconduct.

According to Chebukati, the five were involved in the irregular transfer of voters in Wajir, Kiambu, Nyeri, Uasin Gishu, and Nairobi counties, without following laid down protocols.

“The commission has since suspended the concerned officers and has shared the report with the DPP for further investigations and prosecution,” he said.

The chair was speaking in Nairobi alongside IEBC commissioners, while briefing the country on the electoral body’s preparedness to tackle the August 9 polls. 

Chebukati reiterated they were committed to delivering a free, fair and credible election.

He dispelled claims that he had sidelined commissioners to run the affairs of the commission alone. 

“We are working together as a team and there is no information I am holding from the commissioners,” said Chebukati.

IEBC Commissioner Abdi Guliye warned politicians against ethnically and politically profiling the commission's staff, saying by doing so, they are endangering their lives. 

“As a commission we get concerned when we see the names of our staff being paraded on social media and being linked to certain political divide. As you remember, we lost one of us in 2017 and the trend of mentioning the names of our staff for the wrong reasons is putting them at risk,” Guliye stated.