Kenyans are a funny lot! They easily forget the crucial issues that they need to focus on while getting diverted by the minor issues.
Take the case of the accusations leveled against the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) by Miguna Miguna and one Boaz Gikonyo in the Star newspaper recently. The fact of the matter is that serious allegations have been made against a body that is charged with the responsibility of seeing that we have credible elections in Kenya.
Instead of demanding answers from Issack Hassan and his team, Kenyans are now focusing on the person(s) who came up with these allegations. I was not impressed by Isaack’s rebuttal of the allegations when he said the allegations were the work of those who want to influence who is going to run the 2012 elections. This is simply a side-show. Every politician would like to influence the management of any election. That is given. The issue here is allegations of corruption.
Be that as it may, the allegations of discrimination, corruption and nepotism still remain. This is what ought to be investigated and it does not matter who blew the whistle on the issue. Suspending the personal assistant to the CEO at IIEC does not solve anything and it still does not wash away the doubts that have been raised on the credibility of the IIEC and its commissioners.
The allegations raised against the IIEC leadership were very clear and specific, since they even mentioned names of the people concerned. I believe that the IIEC should have responded to these allegations one by one since they were very specific. Rather than doing that, the IIEC leadership chose to introduce politics into the whole issue by claiming that there is a plot to derail the 2012 elections, knowing too well that this would arouse the passions of Kenyans, thus endear the commissiners to Kenyans who would see the commissioners as people defending the integrity of the eagerly awaited elections. Memories of the 2007 elections debacle are still fresh in the minds of Kenyans.
And that is what exactly happened. Many Kenyans have raised their voices in support of Issack and his team, forgetting that these are serious allegations that have been made and that it is up to Issack and his team to clear the air and assure Kenyans that all is well in the organization.
Soon after these allegations came to light, the IIEC called in the Patrick Lumumba-led Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) to investigate these allegations plus other allegations of malpractices in the organization. If the leadership of the IIEC was sincere, why didn’t they invite KACC earlier and only did that after the whistle-blowing by the same person they have now suspended? For me, this is just a red herring to divert attention from the real issues.
It was very telling when all the commissioners came out to defend the IIEC. I feel that there is something that they would like to hide. And it is also true that they would like to be part of the team that will be in charge of the elections in 2012. That is their right but it does not mean that since they have done a brilliant job previously then they cannot be questioned if something is wrong in the organisation.
It is rather sad and comical for the Justice Minister, Mutula Kilonzo, to dismiss the allegations against the IIEC as baseless since they were not reported to him or the Kenyan Anti-Corruption Commission. Since when did he get the mandate to receive complaints on behalf of the government? It is absolutely wrong for the minister to dismiss the allegations off-hand without giving an opportunity for the concerned authorities to carry out investigations and give their verdict.
At the moment, we can only wait to see what the investigations by the KACC will yield. Meanwhile, we are waiting for specific responses from the IIEC regarding the specific issues that were raised against the IIEC and specific individuals within the organisation. That is what will appease Kenyans as interested parties. Any other thing short of this would only serve to cast more doubt on the integrity of the IIEC.
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