IEBC officials to face charges over poll kits tender
What you need to know:
Mr Oswago, deputy commission secretary in charge of support services Wilson Shollei, director of finance Edward Karisa, and procurement manager Willy Kamanga face charges relating to electronic voter identification kits which failed during the March 4 elections.
Mr Oswago said that they were set to be charged with not following procurement law but emphasised that there was no mention of money being lost on the charge sheet.
The CEO of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) James Oswago and three other officials were Tuesday evening being held by detectives and expected to be charged in court Wednesday morning over a Sh1.3 billion tender scandal.
Mr Oswago, deputy commission secretary in charge of support services Wilson Shollei, director of finance Edward Karisa, and procurement manager Willy Kamanga face charges relating to electronic voter identification kits which failed during the March 4 elections.
“We are recording statements and I see we are being charged with four counts. They have not yet told us if we are going home after this or not,” Mr Oswago told the Business Daily on phone from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) headquarters at Integrity Centre in Nairobi.
“All I can say is that they got the wrong man. I’m in touch with my lawyers,” said Mr Shollei on phone from the same venue where his finger prints were being taken.
Mr Oswago said that they were set to be charged with not following procurement law but emphasised that there was no mention of money being lost on the charge sheet.
Two weeks ago the anti-graft agency wrote to Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko recommending that the four be charged with failing to comply with procurement laws and abuse of office.
Efforts to reach Mr Tobiko, to establish whether he had authorised all the charges against the four, were fruitless as calls to his phone went unanswered.
The Daily Nation on October 19 reported that Mr Oswago and Mr Shollei would be charged with jointly and wilfully failing to comply with Section 47 of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act and rule 31 of the Public Procurement and Disposal Regulations by failing to ensure that changes made to the contract awarded to Face Technologies Ltd by the IEBC for the supply of the Evids were approved by the IEBC tender committee.
They are further accused of using their offices improperly to confer a benefit on Face Technologies by approving the payment of Sh1.3 billion for the supply of the devices without ascertaining that they were inspected, accepted and met technical specifications in the contract.
Mr Oswago, Mr Shollei, Mr Karisa and Mr Kamanga would be charged with breaking procurement regulations by failing to ensure that the devices were inspected and confirmed as having met the required technical standards.
