We lost key equipment days to August polls, reveals IEBC

Shocking details emerged yesterday of how the country’s electoral body lost critical election equipment in various regions in the run up to the August 9 General Election.

Documents from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) reveal the affected areas are regions perceived to have been Azimio La Umoja Leader Raila Odinga strongholds.

The documents tabled by IEBC chief executive Marjan Hussein Marjan before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) shows the items lost include 125 Biometric Voter Registration Kits, 1,315 hard disks, 952 Electronic Voter Identification Device (EVIDS) among other assorted gadgets that were to be used in the election.

According to a report, the perceived Raila strongholds that were affected include Emuhaya where four Dell laptops and two power cables were stolen, Muhoroni where eight items were stolen including one Dell laptop, heavy duty military grade suitcase, two fingerprint scanners, three flash disks, a backpack, laptop charger, two Logitech cameras and USB hub.

Other constituencies are Nyando where two laptops got lost, Marakwet West where 26 electronic voter identification devices were stolen, Karachuonyo where 31 BVR laptops and 45 chargers were stolen, Kajiado North where two laptops and 45 chargers were stolen and Kisumu county warehouse where 952 electronic voter identification devices were stolen.

The other affected areas include Tharaka Nithi constituency where 21 laptops and four generators were stolen and Nandi county Warehouse Kapsabet where six items with a total value of Sh16.5 million comprising 41 laptops, 10 fingerprint scanners, seven cameras, 104 rechargeable batteries, three generators and 23 full BVR kits went missing.

Voter registration

The committee members led by the chairperson Nominated MP John Mbadi demanded to know whether the loss of the equipment affected the general election in any way. “I can see quite a number of constituencies in Nyanza that are Kisumu, Karachuonyo, Muhoroni among others. I am a bit concerned that this is where we keep the voter registration documents. Why was there such a pattern, why do you think these people got interested in this region?” queried Mbadi.

He added, “most of these losses, especially in Kisumu, happened between April 31 and July 21. Mr CEO tell us how safe are elections in this country if the whole of May, June, July was not even aware who was in charge of those equipment that were lost.”

Funyula MP Wilberforce Oundo sought to know whether the commission is populated by rogue staff hell-bent on stealing election equipment so that the election process is compromised.

“It looks like there is a systematic process to steal these kits. Mr CEO you know that elections are emotive in this country and the credibility of the elections is not only on the results but it is on the entire process including the registration of voters. Please give us an assurance that this did not affect the result in the 2022 general election.”

Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera demanded to know whether the commission is concerned that 952 laptops containing data were lost from one warehouse.

The report shows that the 952 EVID laptops were stolen in November 2020 at the Kisumu county warehouse immediately after Stanley Ng’ethe Kabue took over from Lillian Akinyo as the new Kisumu County supply Chain Management Assistant.

According to the commission, the loss of the laptops was as a result of a possibility of an existing cartel within the commission’s ICT offices and supply chain management offices who colluded and stole ICT related items for their benefits adding that there is also an extension of the same stealing in other county offices and warehouses that remained unnoticed. “There is a likelihood that the theft was executed by an internal staff of the commission and most likely by Stanley Kabue. He absconded from duty without official permission. He would appear and disappear regularly at work and it is possible that during this period he was executing the criminal acts,” the report states.  

Huduma Centre

In Chemeil ward, Muhoroni constituency where five equipment were stolen on October 29 2021 after there was burglary at the Huduma Centre, the commission said in its report that all the data of the new registered voters for Chemelil ward which was saved in the flash disk got lost in two flash disks.

This, the commission says, only happened four days after the registration officer for Muhoroni constituency had done a weekly upload of the data of the newly registered voters within the county ICT.

The report also shows that the registration details of 61 voters who had newly registered as voters, were not backed up and thus got lost in the flash disk.

The report states that the theft was calculated to interfere with the data of the registered voters in Chemelil ward as well as facilitate the extension of the voter registration exercise in the ward long after the commission closed the exercise.

“On Saturday November 6, 2021, one suspect namely Charles Otieno who is a known criminal was arrested at Awasi area while in possession of a flash disk which was positively identified by the registration clerks to be the one used for ECVR activities in the said ward,” adds the report.

In Karachuonyo constituency where 31 laptops were stolen on August 26, 2021, the commission concluded that the theft was facilitated by the Constituency Administrative Assistant Jonathan Amoke who supervises administrative issues in the office.