Why we cannot afford to ignore the alarm bells at the IIEC

 

By ABABU NAMWAMBA
Posted  Saturday, August 6  2011 at  18:10

In Summary

• Forget not: Remember the Kivuitu ECK delivered a divine referendum in 2005, then duly walked the country to hell two short years later

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“It is better to have wise men reprimand you than to have stupid people sing your praises” Ecclesiastics 7:5

I smell a rat at the Interim Independent Electoral Commission. Perhaps it is not exactly a rat, but whatever it is — a cat, a dog or even a cockroach — there certainly is something quite smelly at the commission’s Anniversary Towers home.

The allegations of corruption, nepotism, favouritism and supplication at some political altars are felonious enough to warrant a one way exit for those culpable, under Article 251 of the Constitution.

But I am afraid this foul smell may be casually masked away by the cheeky deodorant of windy rhetoric, wild goose chases and clever victim posturing, classical Kenyan style.

Chairman Isaack Hassan is already playing that predictable card of cry-wolf, accusing some ghostly foes of a witch hunt allegedly to prevent him and his commissioners from succeeding themselves.

By so passionately reciting the supposed “amazing” performance of his team, he actually confirmed the poorly kept secret that they are literally stampeding to invade every single space in the new Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

Among the numerous immortal words of Martin Luther King is the teaching that the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Indeed how we handle moments of trial and tribulation says much more about who we truly are than anything else. The tempest at Anniversary Towers is an excellent opportunity to take one hard look at the IIEC and determine the “true measure” of the men and women therein.

Real issues

We must not allow sideshows to camouflage the real issues, nor should we condemn the whistle-blower simply because it is the expedient thing to do. Let us listen keenly and separate fact from fiction with the precision of a neurosurgeon’s scalpel. It is not the first time that suspicions of nepotism have wafted from Anniversary Towers.

It has been murmured repeatedly that employment at the commission is largely influenced by who-knows-who. We now have a chance to put those murmurs to the test of public scrutiny.

Rarieda legislator Nicholas Gumbo has sought a ministerial statement on the staffing complexion at the IIEC, expected in the House next Wednesday. It could make some interesting reading indeed.

Allegations of corruption and political patronage are not entirely new either. The grapevine has been awash with lurid claims of commissioners engaging in insider trading that violates all public procurement tenets, including tenders for such mundane things as paper and pins.

It is further contended that commissioners enjoy the patronage of political godfathers, whose interests they protect at public expense, of course with the attendant risks of public odium.

It is also on many lips that virtually all commissioners are busy lobbying political support for appointment to the new IEBC. That is called solicitation, and it speaks volumes on character.

Public institutions, particularly those that referee supreme contests, must live by that proverbial yardstick of Caesar’s wife.

Second republic

They must not only be “chaste”, but seen to be manifestly so. That is why we are taking so much care in rebuilding organs of our second republic.

It might be useful to recall the intense scrutiny that marked the appointment of the IIEC commissioners, especially the chairman.

Mr Isaack Hassan was never the first choice for the office. He had not even applied for it. The candidate who beat all contenders to the position is a fine young attorney named Mr Cecil Miller.

He ticked all the boxes, but was stopped in his tracks by the basics of that yardstick.

If we could not ignore “mere” allegations then, why should we close our ears to any now? Mr Hassan should be calling for thorough investigations at the IIEC, not crying wolf. That is the true measure of character.

And lest we forget, the IIEC is an interim body whose mandate is virtually expired. It is one of the Agenda Four transitional organs that included the Interim Boundaries Commission and the TJRC.

I co-chaired the panel that shepherded the establishment of these bodies, and I want to remind us that they were not meant to be career stepping stones.

Their mandate was strictly to help the country deal with our painful past, then hand the baton to permanent institutions to drive the new dispensation.

It’s alarming when those who have served in these interim bodies develop a sense of entitlement and give the impression that they are more deserving than other Kenyans out there.

After all, who knew many of these IIEC commissioners before they were given the chance to serve? If they have done a good job, that is not a favour to Kenyans — it is exactly what we hired them to do. Mgema akisifiwa, tembo hulitia maji.

Remember the Kivuitu ECK delivered a divine referendum in 2005, then duly walked the country to hell two short years later. Because we ignored danger signals. Never again!

Ababu Namwamba is MP for Budalang’i. ababumtumwa@yahoo.com