Ipsos bosses in Paris have stopped political polls in Kenya and kicked out veteran researcher Tom Wolf who had become the face of the company.
The development points to the sector becoming a hot potato for research firms with Infotrak, the other leading pollster, saying they have adopted “a wait-and-see strategy”.
Wolf announced his exit in a statement to newsrooms on Monday.
He said Ipsos in France decided that its Kenyan subsidiary, Ipsos-Kenya, should not include “political” survey results in its public releases “for the foreseeable future”.
The research firm has not released any polling results since September last year.
“On the basis of this decision, it was judged that my position as research analyst had become redundant. I was therefore given notice, which took effect on 31st March this year. I am thus no longer associated with Ipsos,” Wolf said.
There are claims Paris blocked the release of poll results conducted late last year on a host of governance issues, including devolution.
Sources within Ipos said that bosses in France declined to extend Wolf’s tenure even for two months to complete a client’s survey on devolution which he was leading.
The decision came at a time Ipsos global bosses are set for a major meeting in Nairobi this month.
In the lead up to the 2017 polls, Wolf came under fire from Opposition chief Raila Odinga’s allies for allegedly skewing the polls in favour of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party.
In August 2016 for instance, ODM deputy secretary general Agnes Zani accused Ipsos of crafting research questions to blackmail Raila.
Yesterday, Wolf dismissed claims of tampering with polls results. “As far as I know, there has been no Kenya government interference which has led to this decision,” he said.
He added, “I am extremely grateful for the support I have received from countless Kenyans of all walks of life over these years. Even the criticisms directed at my/our work I have considered to be a vital reflection of the freedoms that they now enjoy.”
In an interview with the Star, Infotrak CEO Angela Ambitho said political polls come with huge risks to the corporate brand due to the bashing by the political elite. She said her firm is weighing options on political polls.
There is also pressure from major corporates who are their clients who do not want to be associated with research firms engaged in political polls, she said.
“If you want to be pragmatic, sometimes you want to ask yourself what is going to feed you? I am talking for myself: political polling does not feed us. We do it as a corporate social responsibility,” Angela said.
“While political polling as it were would be a critical facet of good governance in this country, it can’t be seen to be achieved at the expense of the basic fundamentals of a business which is economic survival.”
