Why Chiloba was sent on compulsory leave

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has sent CEO Ezra Chiloba on a 3-month compulsory leave pending an audit.

The commission however did not give a detailed reason for the move.

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”.

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

Commission spokesman Andrew Limo told Reuters that the tweet was accurate but declined further comment. Chiloba did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Several days before the August 8 vote, a top official from the commission was found dead in unclear circumstances, adding to a climate of fear surrounding the vote for Kenyans who saw their 2007 election descend into ethnic violence.

The Supreme Court nullified the results of the August election, citing procedural irregularities. It ruled that commission officials had announced results before being able to verify them.

President Uhuru Kenyatta won a repeat vote in October that opposition leader Raila Odinga boycotted.