Credible Oct 26 repeat election not possible: Akombe
Former IEBC commissioner Roselyn Akombe speaks to a Sunday Nation reporter in New Jersey, USA, on October 20, 2017. She said the commission will not be able to conduct a credible poll this month. PHOTO | CHRIS WAMALWA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
By CHRIS WAMALWA
More by this Author
IN SUMMARY
Dr Akombe said she found so many structural weaknesses in the composition of the commission.
She called on President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nasa leader Raila Odinga to dialogue to avert the impending catastrophe.
NEW JERSEY
Former electoral agency commissioner Roselyn Akombe has said that political interference has rendered the agency so dysfunctional that any hope of the commission carrying out a credible repeat election on October 26 is impossible.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Nation from New Jersey on Friday, Dr Roselyn Akombe, who recently quit citing frustrations from fellow commissioners and senior secretariat staff, painted a picture of a statutory body that was not just at war with itself but also one that has become a poster child for political interference.
"The commissioners can’t agree on anything and if they did, chances are that the decisions made would be ignored by the Secretariat.
"In the end, you end up going round and round without making any meaningful decisions," she said.
READ: Akombe flees to New York, resigns - VIDEO
BRIBERY
Dr Akombe claimed that Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission commissioners and senior staff at the secretariat were there to serve the interests of politicians.
RELATED CONTENT
Uhuru warns against disruption of election
IEBC official: Chiloba's leave won't affect poll
Beyond IEBC: What options for Kenya?
"Decisions are made somewhere else and passed on for ratification and implementation.
"Commissioners and senior staff at the secretariat are put in line through bribery and threats. If you don’t agree with them then your life is in danger," she said.
Dr Akombe, who disclosed that she personally faced numerous threats and intimidations for the positions she took during her time at the commission, said she fled the country partly because of her life was in danger and that she had hit a brick wall.
"The other commissioners shot down every suggestion I made to level the playing field as had been recommended by the Supreme Court, so my position in the commission became untenable because I knew we were not complying with the court orders," she added.
PATRONAGE
Looking relaxed and rejuvenated, Dr Akombe, an employee of the United Nations headquartered in New York, who took a sabbatical leave to join the commission with the hope of giving back to the country her vast experience, said she found so many structural weaknesses in the composition of the Wafula Chebukati led commission and the secretariat, and a culture of patronage so entrenched that in the end, she couldn’t function.
"In many ways, my plan to come back to the US started as soon as I got the commission job because while I believed I got the job because I [was] qualified, there were those who wanted to make me feel that I was undeserving of the job.
"In essence, they wanted me to be beholden to them."
CHILOBA
Dr Akombe believes that a small click of secretariat staff led by Ezra Chiloba, the chief executive officer who is currently on leave, are the ones who were responsible for the bungled August 8 presidential election that was subsequently annulled by the Supreme Court.
Ata hivyo RWNNNNBP
Former IEBC commissioner Roselyn Akombe speaks to a Sunday Nation reporter in New Jersey, USA, on October 20, 2017. She said the commission will not be able to conduct a credible poll this month. PHOTO | CHRIS WAMALWA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
By CHRIS WAMALWA
More by this Author
IN SUMMARY
Dr Akombe said she found so many structural weaknesses in the composition of the commission.
She called on President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nasa leader Raila Odinga to dialogue to avert the impending catastrophe.
NEW JERSEY
Former electoral agency commissioner Roselyn Akombe has said that political interference has rendered the agency so dysfunctional that any hope of the commission carrying out a credible repeat election on October 26 is impossible.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Nation from New Jersey on Friday, Dr Roselyn Akombe, who recently quit citing frustrations from fellow commissioners and senior secretariat staff, painted a picture of a statutory body that was not just at war with itself but also one that has become a poster child for political interference.
"The commissioners can’t agree on anything and if they did, chances are that the decisions made would be ignored by the Secretariat.
"In the end, you end up going round and round without making any meaningful decisions," she said.
READ: Akombe flees to New York, resigns - VIDEO
BRIBERY
Dr Akombe claimed that Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission commissioners and senior staff at the secretariat were there to serve the interests of politicians.
RELATED CONTENT
Uhuru warns against disruption of election
IEBC official: Chiloba's leave won't affect poll
Beyond IEBC: What options for Kenya?
"Decisions are made somewhere else and passed on for ratification and implementation.
"Commissioners and senior staff at the secretariat are put in line through bribery and threats. If you don’t agree with them then your life is in danger," she said.
Dr Akombe, who disclosed that she personally faced numerous threats and intimidations for the positions she took during her time at the commission, said she fled the country partly because of her life was in danger and that she had hit a brick wall.
"The other commissioners shot down every suggestion I made to level the playing field as had been recommended by the Supreme Court, so my position in the commission became untenable because I knew we were not complying with the court orders," she added.
PATRONAGE
Looking relaxed and rejuvenated, Dr Akombe, an employee of the United Nations headquartered in New York, who took a sabbatical leave to join the commission with the hope of giving back to the country her vast experience, said she found so many structural weaknesses in the composition of the Wafula Chebukati led commission and the secretariat, and a culture of patronage so entrenched that in the end, she couldn’t function.
"In many ways, my plan to come back to the US started as soon as I got the commission job because while I believed I got the job because I [was] qualified, there were those who wanted to make me feel that I was undeserving of the job.
"In essence, they wanted me to be beholden to them."
CHILOBA
Dr Akombe believes that a small click of secretariat staff led by Ezra Chiloba, the chief executive officer who is currently on leave, are the ones who were responsible for the bungled August 8 presidential election that was subsequently annulled by the Supreme Court.
Ata hivyo RWNNNNBP
