Lugari MP Ayub Savula has urged the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to rescind the suspension of a top ICT officer at the electoral agency. Speaking in his constituency, Savula said the Commission should not have sent the ICT director James Muhati packing barely two months to the general polls.
“Such a move could only create tension and throw IEBC arrangements to oversee a free and credible election process into a spin once again,” said Savula. He likened the move to the suspension of a senior surgical doctor in the middle of a complicated operation on a patient.
“It can be a recipe for a chaotic election if not carefully addressed, what we need is for the IEBC to win the faith of the people and not act in a manner that could see Kenyans start casting aspersions.”
IEBC sent the official on compulsory leave last week over claims that Muhati had refused to cooperate in an ongoing ICT systems audit. The decision to have him removed was arrived at during a plenary meeting chaired by Chairman Wafula Chebukati and attended by all commissioners and CEO Ezra Chiloba.
Savula further argued that the move could be misinterpreted by political players given its timing. “What if the suspended official decides to secretly hack the IEBC ICT system and collapse it?” posed Savula.
IEBC is expected to conduct the testing its vote management and elections system as required by the Elections Act 2016 in less than ten days. The law requires the commission to carry out the test in 60 days to the election date. “They must reinstate Muhati and take disciplinary action against the official after the August 8 elections,” said Savula.