A former Kiambu County Executive Committee member, who is seeking to be a commissioner of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), was yesterday hard-pressed to explain his role in the “chaotic” government of ousted Governor Ferdinand Waititu.

Joseph Kang’ethe, who has since retired,was asked to explain how he managed to steer his department well despite the many audit queries during the former governor’s regime.

Kang’ethe who was in charge of the Education docket said he and some officers tried to strictly follow the  law.

“It was not easy to run away from the many problems but I managed by acting within the law.

In all my duties, I was guided by the rule of law, it’s through this that I managed to discharge my duties well,” he told the panel.

Asked by panel member Gideon Solonka whether his integrity has ever been questioned during his tenure, he defended himself saying his ride was smooth.

The only issue raised was on allocation of bursary which was raised by Members of the County Assembly (MCAs).

 “There were no issues in the Education docket, the only issue that arose was when MCAs demanded that I discontinue allocating bursaries to needy students picked during the former William Kabogo’s regime. They accused  me of bias but we later resolved the  problem,” he said.

Kang’ethe told the panel that he worked for the governor but was also answerable to the Assembly.

“As County Executive Committee member, I was answerable to the governor but the MCAs played the oversight role.

Even when there were problems, I was busy giving out bursaries and pushing a motion to increase salaries and hire on permanent terms Early Childhood Development Education teachers,” he explained.

He also found himself on the receiving end after some Kiambu residents accused him of disconnecting water supply to their estate without prior warning.

Chai Estate residents had claimed that Mustard Seed Sweet Water Service Limited, a company associated with Kang’ethe, disconnected water without giving them notice.

In his defence, Kang’ethe said the water was disconnected by Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kerra), which was rehabilitating roads in the area.

“This is a straight matter; it was Kerra who uprooted the pipes as it embarked on repair works on nearby roads.

I played no role,” he said adding that the complaint was from an individual who wants to siphon money from him.

Another candidate, Juliana Whonge said she will strive to change Kenyans perception of the polls body if given the job.

“We need to change Kenyans mindset about the commission, it is a serious matter which should be addressed before the polls,” Whonge, who works at Mombasa county government said.