Blow to Chiloba as court upholds his compulsory leave

The Labour and Employment Relation Court has declined to issue orders sought by Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba to have his compulsory leave suspended.

In his ruling, Justice Steve Radido said Chiloba will proceed on that leave adding he will not suffer prejudice during the three months compulsory leave.

This comes just a day after Chiloba filed a petition challenging the decision to suspend him .

In his suit papers, Chiloba contends that the decision by IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati to send him on compulsory leave was wrong, unconstitutional, malicious and did not follow any lawful procedure.

IEBC sent Chiloba on a 3-month compulsory leave pending an audit into issues affecting the procurement department.

It was not immediately clear what procurement issues the commission is investigating or what impact the audit could have.

In a post on Twitter, IEBC said its board decided to send the chief executive on leave after a majority vote to expand the scope of an audit “on some procurement matters.”

The court however noted that according to the papers, there is a suggestion that there’s a complex clash between  Chiloba with some of the commissioners saying that the court has to hear the issues before giving out any orders .

The case will be heard on May 7, 2018.