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Post by mwalimumkuu on Jul 19, 2011 21:07:43 GMT 3
Finally the very important process of naming members of the IEBC has started in earnest. This will put to rest the not so important heat already being generated over the alleged late publication of the bill. The two principals have already picked their two nominees each to sit in the panel that will select IEBC members. As usual, the principals did not let down their tribes. The PM’s picks are particularly very interesting. Ms Akinyi Buyu was a member of the defunct Ligale led boundaries commission and Dr. Aukot was the director of the COE. Talk of recycling. IEBC will be very critical in the real demarcation of the electoral boundaries, dealing the poignant issue of gender representation and manning the actual electoral process in just more than a year’s time. It will be very interesting to see how this progresses. www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2011/07/19/govt-rushes-to-beat-iebc-deadlines/kbc.co.ke/news.asp?nid=71392www.nation.co.ke/News/Panel+named+to+vet+2012+poll+managers/-/1056/1204186/-/o7gq65z/-/index.html |
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Post by mwalimumkuu on Jul 19, 2011 21:42:26 GMT 3
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Post by politicalmaniac on Jul 20, 2011 2:53:22 GMT 3
oops gaitho is a panua spinmeister whose opinions are mostly the equivalent of a warm bucket of spit.
The Jukwaa sages here will dissect the bills for flaws, and also the opinion of Hon Miguna will be paramount. The legico is full of pliable danderheads who are more interested in reining in the Press (see the bill by the Panua MP to muzzle publication of opinion polls etc).
Provided the mt kenya mafiya MPs dont try to manipulate the allocation of the new seats via dubious means we shall be fine. They are the real threat to democracy, as they have already tried to subverted the will of the people during the past referenda and succeeded in actually doing so during the 07' election.
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Post by phil on Jul 20, 2011 16:14:27 GMT 3
MwalimumtukutuWhat exactly is your beef with the PM's nominees? Is it irregular or outside the law or is the PM perfectly acting within his mandate? And what is so right about Kibaki's nominees anyway? Sometimes, try and add value to debate through sober anaysis. Not everthing is a contest between ODM and PNU or between G-7 and Raila. Tuliza boli. This is an otherwise important thread that you mess with the first post by making some needless and very misguided insinuations! Unlike you who is blinded by raw hatred and ethnic lenses, I see a fine blend of experience, qualifications and gender balance! I also do not see anyone poluted by partisan politics nor corruption, tags so common among the people you worship. President Kibaki
- Mwanyengela Ngali
- Prof Marion Wanjiku Mutugi
Prime Minister Odinga
- Former CoE director Ekuru Aukot
- Former Boundary Review Commissioner Ms Rosa Akinyi Buyu
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC)
- High Court judge - Isaac Lenaola
- Magistrate Emily Ominde to the panel.
The Association of Professional Societies of East African
-Dr William Okello Ogara
-Ms Sophie Njeri Moturi
Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission Advisory Board
- Ms Irene Cheptoo Keino
- Mr Charles Kariuki Wambugu.
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Post by mwalimumkuu on Jul 20, 2011 18:02:13 GMT 3
MwalimumtukutuWhat exactly is your beef with the PM's nominees? Is it irregular or outside the law or is the PM perfectly acting within his mandate? And what is so right about Kibaki's nominees anyway? Sometimes, try and add value to debate through sober anaysis. Not everthing is a contest between ODM and PNU or between G-7 and Raila. Tuliza boli. This is an otherwise important thread that you mess with the first post by making some needless and very misguided insinuations! Unlike you who is blinded by raw hatred and ethnic lenses, I see a fine blend of experience, qualifications and gender balance! I also do not see anyone poluted by partisan politics nor corruption, tags so common among the people you worship. President Kibaki
- Mwanyengela Ngali
- Prof Marion Wanjiku Mutugi
Prime Minister Odinga
- Former CoE director Ekuru Aukot
- Former Boundary Review Commissioner Ms Rosa Akinyi Buyu
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC)
- High Court judge - Isaac Lenaola
- Magistrate Emily Ominde to the panel.
The Association of Professional Societies of East African
-Dr William Okello Ogara
-Ms Sophie Njeri Moturi
Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission Advisory Board
- Ms Irene Cheptoo Keino
- Mr Charles Kariuki Wambugu. At times it is good to sit back and see things for what they are. Between, who is this that voted you the best award for value addition on Jukwaa? I can as well vote myself for the award. On the main issue however, I only made an aside comment that it was very interesting that of the two picks given to each principal each of then thought it wise to give one slot each to their homies. Secondly, the PM could only turn to defunct COE and Ligale commission for his reps. That is a very narrow view of Kenya, if you asked me. |
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Post by mwalimumkuu on Jul 21, 2011 18:17:19 GMT 3
The fight over the IEBC slots has started in earnest. www.nairobistar.com/opinions/miguna-miguna/32696-iiecs-hassan-isaac-is-over-rated-Obviously, the reason why Miguna Miguna has resorted to this kind of character assassination is because, he knows that Kenyans will at any time support Hassan for the top job at the IEBC. It will be remembered that Miguna and his ODM-R group unsuccessfully tried to arm twist IIEC to sanction the illegality of sacking councilors deemed to be friendly to Ruto. After they failed in their ill conceived moves, they have now resorted to soiling the names of commissioners they do not like with the hope of having them dropped and replaced with their friends in the new look IEBC. |
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Post by mwalimumkuu on Jul 21, 2011 18:23:11 GMT 3
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Post by adongo23456 on Jul 21, 2011 18:37:08 GMT 3
The fight over the IEBC slots has started in earnest. www.nairobistar.com/opinions/miguna-miguna/32696-iiecs-hassan-isaac-is-over-rated-Obviously, the reason why Miguna Miguna has resorted to this kind of character assassination is because, he knows that Kenyans will at any time support Hassan for the top job at the IEBC. It will be remembered that Miguna and his ODM-R group unsuccessfully tried to arm twist IIEC to sanction the illegality of sacking councilors deemed to be friendly to Ruto. After they failed in their ill conceived moves, they have now resorted to soiling the names of commissioners they do not like with the hope of having them dropped and replaced with their friends in the new look IEBC. Try to read the constitution my friend. There are very specific requirements for the IEBC chair including 15 years of legal work and being eligible to be a Judge of the High Court of Kenya. Miguna did not write those requirements and Hassan himself knows he does not qualify. Try another angle. As for vetting of the panel, again the constitution determines the process not some overblown egos of M.Ps. I don't even see what the big deal is. Kenyans sometimes like to fuss about nothing. |
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Post by federa on Jul 21, 2011 19:09:01 GMT 3
I do not see anyone among all these nominees who has any issues, though a number of them have not exactly been public figures and so not much is known about them. The process of vetting these nominees should therefore be largely quiet and controversy free, or so I expect. Parliament should mainly concern itself with ensuring gender balance. It would be nice to have a panel with women as a majority for a change.
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Post by mwalimumkuu on Jul 26, 2011 16:25:30 GMT 3
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Post by federa on Jul 26, 2011 18:27:23 GMT 3
So the COIC has settled on these seven to sit on the IEBC panel.
Mwanyengela Ngali
Marion Mutugi
Ekuru Aukot
Rosa Buyu
Isaac Lenaola
Sophie Njeri
Irene Keino
Good choice by the COIC, at least for a change we have a panel that has women as the majority.
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Post by kamalet on Jul 26, 2011 18:34:49 GMT 3
Try to read the constitution my friend. There are very specific requirements for the IEBC chair including 15 years of legal work and being eligible to be a Judge of the High Court of Kenya. Miguna did not write those requirements and Hassan himself knows he does not qualify. Try another angle. You should not join your friend Miguna in misintepreting the law. There is no where in the constitution that the qualifications of the Chairman of the IEBC are spelt out. The constitution only spells out the qualifications of the commission members: 88(2) A person is not eligible for appointment as a member of the
Commission if the person—
(a) has, at any time within the preceding five years, held office,
or stood for election as—
(i) a member of Parliament or of a county assembly; or
(ii) a member of the governing body of a political party; or
(b) holds any State office.It is the IEBC Act that actually spells out the qualifications and even spelling them out the 15 years must be a figment of your imagination or in the alternative the confusion that Superior Court only means the Supreme court!! The 15 years threshhold is only applicable for judges of the supreme court. 162. (1) The superior courts are the Supreme Court, the Court of
Appeal, the High Court and the courts mentioned in clause (2).So here is what the Act says: 6. (1) The chairperson of the Commission shall be a
person who is qualified to hold the office of judge of a
Superior Court under the Constitution.
(2) A person is qualified for appointment as a member
of the Commission if such person—
(a) is a citizen of Kenya;
(b) holds a degree from a recognized university;
(c) has proven relevant experience in any of the
following fields—
(i) electoral matters;
(ii) management;
(iii) finance;
(iv) governance;
(v) public administration;
(vi) law; and
(d) meets the requirements of Chapter Six of the
Constitution.Hassan Isaak is actually qualified for appointment as the same requirements applied for his appointment to the IIEC as chairman. |
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Post by mwalimumkuu on Aug 3, 2011 18:14:50 GMT 3
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Post by adongo23456 on Aug 3, 2011 18:38:29 GMT 3
hehehehehehe The chicken coming home to roost. There is something terribly rotten with the IIEC and finally it is coming out. None of these commissioners with their skeletons will get anywhere near the IEBC. Lets start with the actual story published in the Star. Here we go: www.nairobistar.com/opinions/others/34331-the-other-side-of-iiec |
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Post by tnk on Aug 3, 2011 19:38:00 GMT 3
hehehehehehe The chicken coming home to roost. There is something terribly rotten with the IIEC and finally it is coming out. None of these commissioners with their skeletons will get anywhere near the IEBC. Lets start with the actual story published in the Star. Here we go: www.nairobistar.com/opinions/others/34331-the-other-side-of-iiecadongo much appreciated when i read the DN link above i got the impression that a whistle-blower was being victimised but in the absence of other information would be hard to show. that article in the star certainly provides the basis this is a case where the messenger is shot dead for delivering unpleasant information |
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Post by adongo23456 on Aug 3, 2011 20:27:28 GMT 3
tnk,
This is the dossier on the problems with IIEC. This was a stop gap which worked well for the country after the ECK fiasco but it needs to be moved to the big league or we could end up with a lot of problems.
SEVEN FACTS YOU DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THE IIEC.
These are facts. If you find them unsettling, then we have cause to be afraid, very afraid, indeed. If you doubt these please seek to establish the same from any or all of the following; Institute of Education in Democracy (IED), Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa (EISA), National Democratic Institute (NDI), International Commission of Jurists-Kenya Chapter (ICJ-Kenya), the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), URAIA. These are NGOs mainly involved intimately in supporting the IIEC in various ways. On issues touching on governance or corruption in the IIEC, even the state intelligence agency, we are sure has corroborative evidence.
FACT ONE
The IIEC commissioners are fiercely divided on regional or tribal lines. The IIEC was established immediately following the disbandment of the ECK. First, against all common sense and better judgment, they first recruited Regional Election Coordinators (RECs), Constituency Election Coordinators(CECs) and Managers, then lastly contracted the recruitment of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Directors to the KPMG. A reasonable approach would have started with the CEO and Directors who would have been instrumental in putting up criteria for the recruitment of the lower cadre staff.
The reason is simple: Commissioners see themselves as representing and protecting ‘provincial’ interests and their own personal interests.
The result is that nearly all RECs are either directly related to the Commissioners or were recruited at the behest of dominant political interests in the former provinces. For instance, how is it that in the entire Rift Valley, all the three RECs are either Kipsigis or related to the Commissioner, from the same ‘region’? How come there is not one Maasai as a REC? And why is the REC for Southern Rift located in Bomet Town and not Narok? Could it be because the Commissioner for Rift Valley is a Kipsigis? Can it be denied that the [] South Rift REC is related to the Commissioner for Rift Valley?
In Nyanza, the REC for South Nyanza, a Kisii, has lived and still lives in Eldoret Town where her home immediately borders that of the Commissioner for Nyanza, also a Kisii, and the two are long-time family friends and both have been residents of Eldoret for decades. The Chairman himself is a relative of the REC for Garissa and many CECs!
There is a Staff Disciplinary Committee in the Commission. Fraud cannot be prosecuted because the commissioners protect their own. Example: A CEC related to the Rift Valley Commissioner, withdrew money to pay clerks, about Sh400,000. His station is Muhoroni Constituency in Nyando. Instead of paying the clerks, he took the money to Eldoret, booked himself into a hotel with his wife and enjoyed mightily. Later, he claimed that the money had been stolen. The CEC was suspended and should have been sacked in accordance with the Commission’s disciplinary procedures. But the Commissioner from Rift Valley obstructed the process arguing that the fellow had returned the money after getting the family shamba sold and that this was enough punishment.
FACT TWO:
ALL CECs from Nyanza, Rift Valley and Western Provinces were interchanged. This means that CECs that originate from Nyanza can be found posted to constituencies in either Rift Valley or Western Province, and vice versa. Therefore, the CEC for Kisumu Rural Constituency is a Luhya; the one for Budalangi a Kalenjin; the one for Bomachoge is a Luhya; the one for Tinderet is a Luhya; the one for Muhoroni is a Kalenjin; and the one for Narok South is a Luo. This apparent ‘ethnic interchange’ affected only Nyanza, Western and Rift Valley Provinces.
The Commissioner for Central led a rebellion against this policy and the result is that all CECs born and bred in Central serve only in Central. In other words, the policy isn’t enforced uniformly across the board thereby undermining it all together.
So, in case a general election is called today, all poll officials from Central will be Kikuyus, while in Rift Valley, Nyanza and Western, there will be an ‘ethnic interchange’ among commissioners. As well, all Kambas will serve in their own backyard. The same applies to North Eastern, Eastern and Coast Provinces. The Chairman of the Commission failed dismally to enforce a standard policy across all regions and this is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode if not addressed immediately.
To make matters really worse, all Regional Election Co-ordinators serve in their Regions of birth. In South Nyanza, which includes Kisii, the REC is a Kisii; in Luo Nyanza, a Luo; in Central, all the two RECs are Kikuyus; in Coast, North Eastern and Eastern, the same story!It is only in Nairobi that the REC a Luhya.
All public and private sector employees in Kenya do not work only in the provinces of their birth. Why is the IIEC so primordial in its thinking? In the entire North, Eastern, Central and Coast provinces, all electoral officials are native to those provinces. This is a recipe for electoral fraud. This much can be guaranteed.
FACT THREE
Commissioners have attempted to influence or influenced the conduct of elections to the extent that, due to repeated public outcry, the Commission adopted an unofficial policy that a commissioner will not take part or supervise any election taking place in their Region or Province. But this policy hasn’t been enforced consistently as the examples here illustrate.
In the recent Juja by-election, all the seven candidates - except Thuo who was considered by many to be a ‘state candidate’ - stormed the offices of the IIEC and protested at the ‘visible’ partisan involvement of Commissioner Winnie Guchu in the elections in favor of Thuo, and by extension for the Gatundu South MP, Uhuru Kenyatta (as part of the latter’s national political strategy). This was widely covered in both the print and electronic media.
The same was repeated in Kirinyaga constituency by-election where Martha Karua loudly, repeatedly and bitterly complained about the partisan state role in the election and the biased role of Commissioner Winnie Guchu.
Whether these allegations are true or false isn’t the issue. It was, however, very strange that the media-obsessed IIEC Chairman Issack Hassan has never denied or commented publicly on these matters.
Whatever the case, even if you are Issack’s most fervent supporter, you will have to accept that if these allegations are true, they reflect badly not only on the Commission as a whole (which they do), but they also reflect very badly on the chairman himself. Hon Karua has said these several times, and in many fora! But there were allegations of the IIEC’s commissioners’ partisanship in South Mugirango, too.
FACT FOUR
There is intense turf war between the Commissioners and the Secretariat. All domestic observers in the by-elections so far held have pointed out the craving from the Commissioners to do secretariat work. For example, various IED election observation reports and Kenya Election Observation Group (ELOG) reports have loudly condemned the commissioners for this.
The Kriegler report condemned this tendency in the clearest and strongest language possible. Yes, the commission out-sourced the executive selection for the Directors, DCEO and CEO. In fact, the KPMG did a good job and the best were employed in the levels of Director, DCEO and CEO. In truth so well qualified are these that they earn not less than one million Kenya Shillings each, depending on seniority, per month.
The Commissioners earn much less as their remuneration is dictated by the Constitutional Officers Remuneration Act. Why can't they be left to do their work? Many do not know that the excellent work that Kenyans are all proud of is actually done by the Secretariat.
Again, this fissure is a clear indication of a glaring failure of leadership by the chairman. For example, the CECs, RECS and Managers were all employed in 2009. The Directors and CEO started work in January 2010. By September 2010, none had been confirmed in their positions. The IED noted this and reported that there was insecurity in staff at all levels because of this failure. The IED report was given prominence by one national daily newspaper. There was near pandemonium at the Commission with commissioners accusing the secretariat of leakage ‘internal secrets’. There were reported shouting exchanges between the CEO and one Commissioner, who has acquired notoriety for interference in secretariat work and seeking to influence the outcome of by-elections.
The CEO then was ordered to confirm those under his authority, which included all staff below Directors. In a show of might, the Chairman and the commissioners refused to confirm the CEO and the Directors for months, thereafter.
Recently, when the IEBC bill was being prepared, some three well known commissioners (and it is inconceivable, the chairman was unaware, given that these are his most trusted lieutenants) lobbied feverishly that the staff of the IIEC should not automatically be absorbed into the new body, the IEBC.
Indeed, even the final published bill that was debated in Parliament stated that the new body will inherit the liabilities, assets, etc, of the IIEC but NOT the existing staff! It took the diligence of MPs to correct this anomaly and introduce a provision that staff too will transit to the new body automatically.
Many may not have realized that the commissioners wanted the transition clause to exclude staff purely for selfish and vindictive reasons. Again, one must ask, what was the role of the commission chair in this? He appeared before the relevant parliamentary committee and the records of his presentation are a matter of public record and available for anyone to read. Nowhere did he defend his staff.
FACT FIVE
The Electronic Voter Registration system (EVR) which Kenyans consider to be the greatest achievement of the IIEC is of doubtful utility. This was introduced on trial basis in 18 constituencies. To date, several evaluations by staff have been done and to date policy decision has been made by the Commission on this, thanks to the militancy of a Commissioner who likes to be known as the Chairman of the Commission’s ICT committee.
The staff is critical but the commissioner in-charge sees any criticism as personal attack. The Director of ICT is terribly frustrated and demoralized and has even considered resigning. In fact, the said Commissioner made sure he staffed the ICT department with people whom he had used at Telkom Kenya to further his interests. These people have not failed their boss. Unfortunately, they have thoroughly worked to undermine the Director and block any ideas deemed to be against the commercial interests of the Commissioner.
For a start, the battery is too bulky at thirty kilos, the solar panels too unwieldy etc. Compare this to the Ugandan, Nigerian or Namibian models.
Nigeria rolled out a fantastic EVR model. And these are just the technical parts. The IIEC EVR is the costliest per unit in the whole world! But that is not the worst bit. CODE Inc, the Canadian company that supplied the system does not make any of the components. The battery and solar bits are made in India and China; the laptop Belgian, etc. CODE buys these parts and then assembles them in Kenya as separate components. In their website, CODE Inc actually confirms this by stating: The CDS combines proven commercial off-the shelf (COTS) hardware with an easy-to-use software interface and a central multi-biometric matching server, to collect and clean voter registration information.
The said central multi-biometric matching server used during the referendum was leased from Code at a premium cost, the system does not speak to the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) system (the traditional mode of registration).This was the first large contract shrouded in corruption, which was pushed through by the commissioner.
This commissioner, incidentally, and these are indisputable facts, previously worked for a parastal telecommunications company, and was fired for high level graft Nyayo style over public Radio. He had wangled himself to a senior management position; courtesy of Nyayo era tribal wheeler dealing. This man is wealthy beyond measure.Why can't Kenya learn from Phillipines, Nigeria, India and even Namibia?
Yes EVR is a good idea and IIEC must be congratulated for considering it. But the real kudos must go to KRIEGLER and his committee because those were his idea! Time is running out for us to have a good replacement model and please remove this commissioner from the project and Kenyans will have an affordable system tailored to the Kenyan conditions
FACT SIX
All commissioners are connected to some powerful politicians within their Region. Or to put it differently, all commissioners including the Chairman were sponsored at the time of their employment by some political potentate in the region. They are therefore political players completely undeserving of their umpire roles.
Why future commissioners can’t be forced immediately on appointment to be deployed to be in charge of a province other than their own or better still scrap the role of commissioners as representing interests of provinces.
FACT SEVEN
The IEBC Act states that the chairperson must be qualified to be Supreme Court judge. The person must have a record that matches those of judges recently hired for the Supreme Court. Look very closely and ask yourself what should be done to make the next commission better. And you will have to start with the quality of the chair.
This commission is currently rudderless in terms of leadership. One experienced Commissioner says there is unbelievable inexperience in how to run a large Commission and that even basic matters as commission plenary meetings lasts eight hours or more every time they are held because, the discussions are allowed to be unfocussed and turned into barazas without even a single policy output.
Woe unto any commissioner who addresses the press, particularly, electronic media, regardless of the topic without the chair’s express and patronizing say so. It is a fact that this chair is always abroad and at least twice a month. That plenary meetings that take up to eight hours are stopped once or twice for the chair to go and pray, that in all the over two years NO PLENARY meeting has taken place in the chair’s absence and therefore the meetings are scheduled haphazardly and at his sole whim. That a private eye in the name of a Personal Assistant sits in all management meetings.
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Post by job on Aug 3, 2011 22:41:43 GMT 3
Adongo These - "Seven facts you did not know about the IIEC" - (above) are quite disturbing if not chilling.Issack Hassan is already alleging a smear campaign against IIEC Commissioners as the facts begin sipping out in the open. A jittery Issack Hassan has already declared his own interest in the Chairmanship of the soon-to-be constituted IEBC. www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/IIEC+suspends+Oswago+aide/-/1064/1212956/-/qhj6v4/-/index.htmlHassan is naively assuming that IIEC’s thin record on by-elections and the past referendum is down-payment for their automatic chauffeuring into the new IEBC. But his latest actions are worth examining. First, he is dismissing legitimate scrutiny of their record as mere smear campaign. Secondly, Issack is intimidating and has already hounded out of employment (suspension), an insider IIEC whistleblower – who pointed out these glaring and significant irregularities within the IIEC. These valid questions merit investigation, not suspension of suspected insiders spilling them out. Is this not an effort to intimidate further exposure of the rot within IIEC? I think Hassan has embarked on a mistaken knee-jerk offensive he might soon regret. I have news for him. I’ll refer him to the recent appointments made in the Judiciary; where automatic chauffeuring (of past officials and pro-establishment favourites) was simply non-existent. The process of recruiting IEBC Commissioners will have to be fair, transparent, and participatory (public involvement). The latter requirement (public participation) is exactly what we’ve started doing right here.We shall individually examine Issack Hassan & all other IIEC Commissioners’ records at the electoral body. We shall scrutinize and investigate for any evidence of nepotism, corruption, ethnic gerrymandering with regards to deployment of regional coordinators (RECs), constituency coordinators (CECs) and respective poll managers. Meanwhile, we shall continue watching Hassan's extent of intimidation of insider staff who are willing to spill beans on goings-on within IIEC. This IIEC house doesn’t seem to be too clean and rosy after all! Dirt is being swept under the carpet. Staff are being hushed to be queit about nepotism, corruption and ethnically-skewed deployment of electoral staff.Should signs of favouritism benefiting Commissioner Issack Hassan’s relatives (& cronies), or Commissioner Winnie Guchu’s relatives (& cronies) or Commissioner David Chirchir’s relatives (& cronies) …ditto for the other Commissioners – be found; then none of these Commissioners will have any moral argument to justify their recruitment into the new electoral body vis-a-viz the new constitution’s requirements for values and integrity. 2007/8 PEV taught us something. Kenya cannot afford to play with the new IEBC. What is expected of this new electoral body is independence from political influence. Commissioners, the secretariat, RECs, CECs, and managers must not be compromised. The appointment procedures of its members should be fair and transparent so as to engender trust and public confidence. There must be diversity (representative of the nation) and uniform application of hiring and deployment patterns. I sense that Issack Hassan’s fellow IIEC Commissioners (like Winnie Guchu - acting at the behest of nefarious Kibaki-succession honchos) are already bamboozling Hassan into a suicidal soon-to-implode partisan project. The signs are clearly on the wall. The bias has inadvertently started showing.Hassan has apparently let his guard down – tempering his moral compass and credibility- after being promised automatic appointment to head the new IEBC. This is exactly how the Kihara Muttus of the now disbanded ECK of 2007 recruited Samuel Kivuitu into a fatalistic project that left the latter octogenarian disgraced, humiliated, deprived and isolated – after nearly burning the country down. A blindsided Hassan seems to be now walking down that same path. Let me remind Hassan (in case he has imbibed that snake oil) that unilateral-PNU-ushered nominees never always land desired jobs. He only needs to look at Kioko Kilukumi and Justice Visram in the Judiciary. Are these PNU hand-picked nominees our DPP and CJ respectively? We will soon be fully utilizing the clearly provided mechanism for public participation (in appointments of Commissioners) to ask Hassan whether IIEC under him: (1) Recruited RECs, CECs and managers in a fair, transparent and participatory process.
Or indeed whether he (Hassan) succumbed to pressures (& self temptation) to engage in a hand-picked-crony-and-relative-hiring jamboree – which hid heavy political connotations behind the seemingly innocent appointments?
(2) Enabled the appointment of nearly all RECs who are either directly related to the Commissioners or representing dominant political interests in the provinces.
That is sure recipe for complete electoral disaster in 2012.
(3) Allowed an ethnically-skewed deployment of RECs, CECs and managers across the country without a standard (uniform) criteria. Do we have a scenario where ALL CECs from Nyanza, Rift Valley and Western Provinces hail from outside those provinces while CECs from Central, Eastern, Coast, and North Eastern are born and bred natives of the respective regions?
If the CEC for Kisumu Rural Constituency is a Luhya; for Budalangi a Kalenjin; for Bomachoge a Luhya; for Tinderet a Luhya; for Muhoroni a Kalenjin and for Narok South a Luo; why are the CECs for most constituencies in Central Kikuyu?
Why this disparity?
Should this be confirmed to be true – then automatically, the IIEC recruiters who facilitated such anomaly do not deserve to sit anywhere near the IEBC in 2012 – period!
(4) Is Issack Hassan content that if a general election is called today, all poll officials from Central will be Kikuyus; in Ukambani will be Kambas; NEP will be local natives; Coast will be local natives - while in Rift Valley, Nyanza and Western, there will be an ‘ethnic interchange’?
Is this Issack Hassan’s idea of uniformity and standardization of the next general election? Does this represent “neutrality” in Hassan’s judgement?
Will Hassan (like politicians living under the old constitution) dismiss these valid questions of bias as mere smear campaign?
(5) Did IIEC under Issack Hassan cede the crucial responsibility of confirming/staffing/hiring the IEBC Secretariat to PNU-linked business elites at KPMG?
Is KPMG a neutral body enjoying full public confidence? If IIEC engaged partisan hawks in recruiting staff, that would be the height of total negligence and abdication of duty with regard to the constitutional requirement of fairness (impartiality) in recruiting key public servants.
(6) Is outright fraud amongst CECs (related to Commissioners) being covered up and handled with kid gloves? Is Hassan selectively ceding undue influence to Commissioner Winnie Guchu – as is already publicly evident?
Has Hassan lately been pushed into Press Conferences to make clearly partisan political statements? Who has been holding the gun barrel on his head? PEV is still too fresh in our minds. We do not need to play with fire. We do not need partisan wimps pretending to oversee the 2012 elections! We need fiercely independent, reformist, credible, and clean officials to steer the paramount polls in 2012 which would either make or break Kenya! Fearless and forthright folks in the mold of Justice Mutunga. No more Kivuitus in 2012!
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Post by phil on Aug 3, 2011 23:07:38 GMT 3
me thinks the same ODM/PNU coalition supremacy wars are playing out in IIEC. I saw the Isaak press conference and I thought it was absolutely needless and uncalled for.
Isaak was trying to justify his actions of suspending Major (retired) Oswago's personal assistant because of unspecified propaganda that was found on his laptop. (Was he that naive?)
There's serious money to be spent and earned in Kenya's electoral reforms, especially with electronic voting projects round the corner and supply of strategic electoral materials for 2012 general elections. There is real possibility of politicians infiltrating the IIEC. Who knows whether recent by-election results have any credibility in them? How about the potentially explosive Kamkunji by-elections that Isaak is desperate to control because of the emotive Somali factor in Eastleigh right in the middle of Kamkunji constituency?
Isaak actually needs support from both sides of the coalition to make his tenure a success. Otherwise he risks going the Kivuitu way.
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Post by mwalimumkuu on Aug 4, 2011 3:16:23 GMT 3
Guys, it is often said that if it walks like a dog, looks like a dog and barks like a dog, then it must be a dog. Some of us could smell this from across the ocean, the minute Miguna Miguna put pen to paper to attack the person of Hassan. The attacks were so personal and very juvenile that one could not help but read a sinister motive. It was clear then to any observer that something was a foot. It has come to pass. The on-goings is symptomatic of the vicious wars being fought by the ODM crowd to isolate those they do not deem friendly and not willing to play ball in helping their selfish course in the run-up to 2012 polls. There is a pattern here that we cannot ignore. How come it is only Miguna, Oswago and Odongo who are implicated here? This is the ODM-R connection that is causing trouble in the IIEC with the intention of soiling the commissioners’ names for the sake of their man. As one can tell by the posts of the usual suspects above, this is a coordinated effort, very deliberate. But the bad news for them is that, Kenyans will not let them. Meanwhile, here they are: www.youtube.com/user/kenyacitizentv#p/c/9E48408AE9145817/2/UY7HVOUsVRM |
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Post by tnk on Aug 4, 2011 6:11:15 GMT 3
mwalimumkuu two things here 1) what is the response to the 7 facts listed 2) how come the IIEC is very quick to move and suspend the said staff (intolerance etc) whereas they cannot do the same with the list presented by ODM? double standards? but i dont really care about qtn 2 and the conspiracy theory am more interested in answers to qtn 1 , if you see Jobs post, we are about to enter another election and we cannot repeat the same mistakes over and over expecting different outcome deflecting argument to some conspiracy theory does not in any way respond to the seven listed facts. |
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Post by kamalet on Aug 4, 2011 10:10:23 GMT 3
Really sad!!
Just when Kenyans had started to have faith in the electoral system and then the ugly head of political machinations pops up. The only reason is the 2012 elections and there are those who would like to have the process controlled - even remotely.
So the first step is get rid of the current commissioners Kenyans seem to have faith in, and the best way of doing it is soiling the entire commission!
What is disappointing is that the dirty work is being done by ODM operatives (see Miguna?) and members of the same community working in the secretariat. If you wonder why, you will notice that the "victims" in this whole line of complaints are the Luos in the commission who are not beneficiaries. The "facts" seem to have issues with the Somali, Kipsigis, Kisii and Kikuyu commissioners!
What is even more interesting is that the same errors repeated by Miguna on the qualifications of the Chairman of the IEBC where he claimed that the chairman was supposed to have the qualifications of a Supreme Court justiucs - and now we know all he did is either plagiarise from this "facts" document or he helped author the document!
If truth be told.....extremely cheap politics!
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Post by einstein on Aug 4, 2011 12:08:03 GMT 3
Really sad!! Just when Kenyans had started to have faith in the electoral system and then the ugly head of political machinations pops up. The only reason is the 2012 elections and there are those who would like to have the process controlled - even remotely. So the first step is get rid of the current commissioners Kenyans seem to have faith in, and the best way of doing it is soiling the entire commission! What is disappointing is that the dirty work is being done by ODM operatives (see Miguna?) and members of the same community working in the secretariat. If you wonder why, you will notice that the "victims" in this whole line of complaints are the Luos in the commission who are not beneficiaries. The "facts" seem to have issues with the Somali, Kipsigis, Kisii and Kikuyu commissioners! What is even more interesting is that the same errors repeated by Miguna on the qualifications of the Chairman of the IEBC where he claimed that the chairman was supposed to have the qualifications of a Supreme Court justiucs - and now we know all he did is either plagiarise from this "facts" document or he helped author the document! If truth be told.....extremely cheap politics! People have sunk so low, they gotta resort to some idle tittle-tattle about Luos in the commission complaining simply because they Luos missed out as beneficiaries in the commission and hence are waging wars against the Somali, Kipsigis, Kisii and Kikuyu commissioners! No attempt is being made at all to verify the veracity of the claims labeled against the commission as a public institution and an electoral pillar in the country. No, no, no! Who cares about the truth!? May be another round of the PEV will do the country real good. Let members of our families dash to the bush again in search of cover from marauding war-lords!!! |
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Post by kamalet on Aug 4, 2011 13:30:18 GMT 3
Really sad!! Just when Kenyans had started to have faith in the electoral system and then the ugly head of political machinations pops up. The only reason is the 2012 elections and there are those who would like to have the process controlled - even remotely. So the first step is get rid of the current commissioners Kenyans seem to have faith in, and the best way of doing it is soiling the entire commission! What is disappointing is that the dirty work is being done by ODM operatives (see Miguna?) and members of the same community working in the secretariat. If you wonder why, you will notice that the "victims" in this whole line of complaints are the Luos in the commission who are not beneficiaries. The "facts" seem to have issues with the Somali, Kipsigis, Kisii and Kikuyu commissioners! What is even more interesting is that the same errors repeated by Miguna on the qualifications of the Chairman of the IEBC where he claimed that the chairman was supposed to have the qualifications of a Supreme Court justiucs - and now we know all he did is either plagiarise from this "facts" document or he helped author the document! If truth be told.....extremely cheap politics! People have sunk so low, they gotta resort to some idle tittle-tattle about Luos in the commission complaining simply because they Luos missed out as beneficiaries in the commission and hence are waging wars against the Somali, Kipsigis, Kisii and Kikuyu commissioners! No attempt is being made at all to verify the veracity of the claims labeled against the commission as a public institution and an electoral pillar in the country. No, no, no! Who cares about the truth!? May be another round of the PEV will do the country real good. Let members of our families dash to the bush again in search of cover from marauding war-lords!!! Einstein You are being dishonest here. I cheekily dropped in the L word and you were quick enough to notice it but would not see the same when it was the K or the S words in the main 'fact' sheet!!! It does not become a lie when the plot is clearly one let by Miguna and Odongo who cannot be Hausa or Rendille... if you catch the drift! |
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Post by bkichwa on Aug 4, 2011 18:53:27 GMT 3
Apologies for re-posting this story line on Jukwaa (it's also on the Miguna Suspension thread). It is quite relevant to the evolving debates in both topics hence reason for doing this. www.nairobistar.com/national/national/34610-iiec-allges-plot-to-manipulate-next-years-pollPLOT TO DERAIL 2012 POLL REVEALED
Thursday, 04 August 2011 00:01 BY MOSOKU GEOFFREY
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CONCERNED: IIEC chairman Isaack Hassan during the press conference at their offices yesterday. Photo/Chrispinus Wekesa
CONCERNED: IIEC chairman Isaack Hassan during the press conference at their offices yesterday. Photo/Chrispinus Wekesa
The Interim Independent Electoral Commission yesterday claimed there is a plot to rig the 2012 general election. The IIEC chairman Issack Hassan said external forces are working on derailing the appointment of new commissioners and if they succeeded, the integrity of next year's elections will be compromised.
Issack said the plan involves discrediting the current commissioners so that they may not be considered for re-appointment when the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission is put together. The term of the IIEC's commissioners expires immediately the IEBC commissioners are appointed.
The IEBC will be responsible for running elections, creating boundaries for the proposed new constituencies as well as registering voters and maintaining the voters register. The commission will also be responsible for drawing the boundaries of the proposed 47 counties. The IIEC said it had discovered the plot during internal investigations it conducted following media reports that nepotism and favouritism were rife at the commission.
Yesterday Issack said the commission has suspended Allan Odongo, who is the personal assistant to the IIEC chief executive officer James Oswago. Odongo is alleged to have been undermining the commission and leaking unauthorised documents to the media. Issack said the commission has recalled Oswago, who is on a seven-day official trip to the Philippines, to assist in the investigations.
A selection panel to vet the new IEBC commissioners has been appointed and will be meeting today at the Public Service Commission offices to elect the chairman and vice chairman and advertise vacancies for the IEBC commissioners.
Issack said the plot involved individuals from outside the commission working in concert with some of the commission staff to tarnish and discredit the commissioners as corrupt and tribalist so that they would not be considered for appointment to the IEBC. �We are in a transition and it�s highly possible that some forces would like to influence who manages the 2012 elections. There is evidence that they are using some staff to champion their selfish interests,� Issack said. He declined to name the people behind the plot and only said it involved politicians as well as members of the civil society.
He said the commission had always been aware of the plot which was being implemented in the last few months through the publication of numerous articles, commentaries and correspondences aimed at discrediting the image and integrity of the chairman, the commissioners and the secretariat as a whole.
Issack said their investigations had revealed that Odongo was behind some of the articles published. �When the allegations of corruption and nepotism come to our knowledge through the media, we launched investigations using IT experts and independent forensic experts. The investigations unearthed articles from the laptop of the PA to the CEO Mr Alan Odongo,� said Issack.
Odongo was suspended without pay on Tuesday evening. He has since denied that he was working on behalf of Oswago or being part of the plot. �When we asked him if he had been instructed by Oswago he denied it but we are not taking chances and have asked the CEO to return back to the county to aid in investigations,� Isaack said.
Isaack and Commissioner Davies Chirchir who were due to travel to the Philippines to join Oswago on Monday said they decided to cancel the trip to handle the crisis.
Isaack said some of the articles recovered from Odongo's laptop had been published in the opinion pages of the Star while others were lined up for publication in other newspapers. �Some of the articles are word by word of what was printed in a local paper�s opinion but under a different byline,� Isaack said.
Isaack, who was accompanied by eight of his commissioners and secretariat staff, defended the commission from the allegations saying they were libelous and malicious. In the letter suspending Odongo, the commission accused him of communicating with the media about the affairs of the commission without express approval in writing by the commission or any authority on behalf of the commission.
He is also accused of defaming the commission and its employees in an opinion entitled �Tribalism, Nepotism are rife at the IIEC� published on Page 24 of the Star�s Opinion columns which is contrary to its code of conduct as stipulated in his appointment letter.
Odongo denied the allegations and said the documents recovered from his laptop were common and had been circulated in media houses and a section of the civil society. �Let this be on record that the CEO/Secretary of the commission has nothing to do with all these and the coincidence of I disagreeociation with the said article are not any any way part of my relationship with him as the PA nor have I ever received instructions from him to act in any way that would have similar results or effects,� Odongo adds.
Isaack said such "malicious allegations" threatened to dent the credibility of the IIEC which has received plaudits since its inception 25 months ago. He said the commission has asked Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission and other government institutions for help in unearthing those behind the plot. |
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Post by mwalimumkuu on Aug 4, 2011 19:10:31 GMT 3
bkichwa,
Thanks for the above post. These guys were a little too naive. The tribal cable at the PM's office has been at this for a while. Their targets have for a while now been Abdikadir and Hassan. But the two young men have just been way too smart for them.
As I said earlier, Isaak will take them headon and will wrestle them down. Those of us who have interacted with him know for a fact that he is a very smart boy contrary to what Miguna and his cheerleaders here would have had us believe. Two are now gone, Oswago is next on the chopping board. We cannot again allow tribalism to rear its ugly head in the runup to the elections. It is very sad that a man of Oswago's stature allowed himself to be sucked into such cheap political gimmicks.
IIEC should not be fooled by Miguna's suspension, they should go the whole hog and uproot the rot within their ranks. Kenyans have a lot of faith in the commission and disserve better.
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