Finally, ECK staff see the merit in telling truth
Updated 11 hr(s) 34 min(s) ago
By Juma Kwayera
Fresh details are emerging about how the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) bungled last year’s presidential election, with subordinate staff confirming the widely held view that the electoral body was party to “cooking” of the presidential results.
The man on the spot is the information and technology manager who was in charge of the computer room at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), where the tallying of presidential results was done.
When the 600 striking met on Wednesday, the manager (name withheld), was kicked out of the meeting amid accusations that he colluded with some commissioners to alter presidential results from polling centres, which in turn has put their jobs on the line.
They also claimed the manager went underground as soon ECK chairman Samuel Kivuitu declared President Kibaki winner. The staff we spoke claimed the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) officers were hired to alter results submitted by returning officers, adding that they lacked the capacity to stop the apparent breach of procedure as the rigging was in full view of some commissioners.
Fresh allegations
“When the returning officers arrived at the KICC, which was the command centre of the presidential poll, they were directed to report to the NSIS desk before handing Form 16(a) to ECK officials,” one of them said and cited Juja constituency, where presidential votes were “topped up” in the open. The fresh allegations contradict the findings of the Independent Review Commission (Irec) chaired by retired South African judge Johann Kriegler, which investigated the conduct of the elections. Kriegler concluded that there was no rigging at KICC.
However, the allegations that NSIS took part in the electoral fraud corroborate the findings of the Waki Commission, which investigated post-election violence. The commission, chaired by Mr Justice Philip Waki, noted that NSIS was deeply involved in activities that constituted “partisanship on the part of a state security organ and are examples of activities that clearly fall outside the mandate of the agency.”
In his report, Waki noted that the security service acted outside its mandate, which included attempts to secure ECK accreditation for NSIS officers to be part of the election process.”
One of the workers who requested anonymity narrated how he protested to a commissioner from western Kenya about the alterations of the results by security agents. “It was happening in the absence of the chairman, Mr Samuel Kivuitu, who was bedridden,” she said. The source added the commissioners at KICC took advantage of Kivuitu’s absence to alter the figures with the help of NSIS.
In a statement copied to Parliament, foreign envoys, United Nations, Law Society of Kenya and the EU head of Mission in Kenya, the workers said: “It is a cardinal rule of natural justice that no none shall be condemned unheard. None of the secretariat staff afforded any hearing at the Kreigler Commission.”
Our sources said all the polling clerks at KICC were recruited less than a week to the December 27 elections and were not conversant with the procedures, hence lacked the skills and confidence to question some to hold their supporters to account.
“They were recruited by the commission and having contributed to the electoral fiasco, have conveniently melted into thin air.”
Against this backdrop, the ECK subordinates want to be given an opportunity to name and shame their colleagues, commissioners, senior government officials and security chiefs who subverted the electoral process.
“We want to hold office until the interim commission is in place. The new commission should then vet the staff and fairly judge who to retain,” the statement reads in part. It is at this stage that they hope to shade light on how some of their senior colleagues abetted electoral fraud.
The workers, frustrated by Justice and Constitutional Minister Martha Karua’s stand that the dismissals be executed immediately, want to be given a chance to tell what they saw and know before they are shown the red card. Although the workers say they saw some of the 22 commissioners take part in the rigging of the presidential poll, they could not offer a convincing explanation why they did not raise the alarm at the time.
They defended their silence citing the election laws that vest all the powers in the commissioners, who make policy decisions.
On Thursday, retired President Moi said ECK commissioners and staff were induced to tilt poll results. Speaking in Naivasha, the former president blamed the poll fiasco and resultant violence on ECK
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Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2008 22:38:48 -0800 [12:38:48 AM CST]
From: otieno sungu
Subject: ECK rigging claims; necessary or too late??