OKECH: IEBC rot map is national shame

Embedded observers are avoiding the bigger picture of the presidential election dispute now before the Supreme Court. The dispute is not about Azimio la Umoja presidential ticket holders challenging a fraudulent declaration of victory.

The dispute is not about alleged individual loss or win. It's not about the electoral agency confirming public suspicions of its partiality.

It is not about the icons of the struggle for democracy, Raila Odinga and Martha Karua, challenging the agency's inability to conduct free and fair elections.

It's not about United Democratic Alliance presidential candidate William Ruto defending electoral agency chairperson Wafula Chebukati as a hero of sorts, and an impartial adjudicator of the electoral process.

The clash is about exposing malevolent forces that seek to auction the vote to the highest bidder. The conflict is about Kenya hovering precariously on the precipice of losing democratic gains. Some of these gains were tenuously attained after 40 years of agitation.

Patriots sacrificed to sanctify the ballot. Gallant sons of the land were detained. Some died to secure the endangered democratic gains.

Some of these gains are being reversed. The regression is being advertised on live television. What with MPs-elect being lured to defect before taking up office!

Kenya stands to lose 30 years or more if the vote is desecrated at the behest of money-worshippers and suckers of patronage.

The case before the Supreme Court is a patriotic attempt to protect the vote, and reclaim the sallied independence of the electoral commission. It's a patriotic attempt to expose the malevolent capture of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

The preamble to the legal drama is explosive. The muddled math of vote tallying and verification is the butt of international jokes.

Defending a win or challenging alleged IEBC-supervised fraud are the superficial face of what is shaping up as an inquiry into the manipulation of the 2022 presidential election.

IEBC commissioners tearing into each other – Serena Four against Bomas Three – illustrate the complete capture of IEBC. Clash over numbers and procedures exposes an elaborate mess.

Denials will not cure the presidential election bungle. Breached login and access to IEBC servers expose the partiality and bestiality of the conduct of the arbiter of elections.

The claims of the involvement of foreigners are treasonous. Procurement was a documented mess.

There will be arguments about Form 34A before the honourable justices of the Supreme Court. The credibility of the electoral commission will be interrogated.

Workers would identify with the drama, if they think of their human resources department and the politics of the pay slip. In most organisations, payrolls are prepared mid-month.

The primary reward chit is then taken through the motions of the personnel department to confirm who is on unpaid leave; who is getting leave allowance, or who has been fired.

The pay slip then moves to the Finance department for statutory deductions like pay-as-you-earn, loans repaid at source and other deductible advances. Account signatories then approve payment at month-end.

The primary source of data is the HR department. Due diligence collapses if Venezuelans access the HR payroll – polling station – to upload, download and edit it at will.

The race of affidavits indicates the primary source of recording 2022 presidential election scores was breached at the behest of vested interests.

The payroll of 2013 was tampered with and the 2017 one produced ghost millionaires. There was no punishment for these frauds. No wonder in 2022, someone still says you people from the cleaning department are always complaining about pay slips.

The mess may be massive because the HR people of 2013 and 2017 are still in charge, even though some of the clerks have deserted and produced a parallel payroll.

That is the IEBC – the first respondent before the Supreme Court this Wednesday morning.

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