You’re not off the hook yet, Orengo tells IEBC officials

Siaya Senator James Orengo has told senior IEBC officials that they are not yet off the hook yet despite the Supreme Court finding that none of them committed an election offence in the August 8 polls.

Mr Orengo clarified that the Supreme Court found illegalities and irregularities in the nullified presidential poll and those who were part of the illegalities must be punished.

“The court found that there were illegalities and irregularities on how the election was managed. It is now upon the Director of Public Prosecutions to act on the individuals that committed them,” Mr Orengo said.

IEBC SERVERS

The Siaya senator said the only way IEBC would have absolved itself from any offence as far as the illegalities and irregularities pointed out by the Supreme Court were concerned was for the commission to open its servers.

“The electoral commission failed to open their servers to prove that they conducted a fair election,” Mr Orengo said.

“We cannot have criminals running an independent institution. Something must be done in line with the ruling of the Supreme Court,” Mr Orengo said.

Another Nasa lawyer, Dr Otiende Amollo, said senior IEBC officials ought to be charged because they failed to follow the law hence the nullification of the Presidential results.

“If the IEBC officials are allowed to conduct another election without any action taken against them for the illegalities and irregularities they committed, then they will do the same mistakes,” Dr Amollo said.

INSTITUTIONAL PROBLEMS

While delivering the full judgement Wednesday, Chief Justice David Maraga ruled that although the court had found systematic institutional problems within the commission, there were no finger prints of any individuals.

“There was no criminal intent on the first or second respondent, commissioner or member of staff of the first respondent,” said the CJ.

Nasa has named a number of officials including Commissioner Abdi Guliye, CEO Ezra Chiloba, ICT Director James Muhati, voter education director Immaculate Kassait and legal director Praxedes Tororey as the people who must leave the commission before the repeat election.

Mr Orengo maintained that IEBC offices must from now be treated a “crime scene” in order to allow the DPP to conduct investigations.

“IEBC offices should be treated as a crime scene. All documentations should be preserved for investigations,” Mr Orengo said.

Mr Tobiko had also been waiting for the judgment to point him in the direction of people he could bring charges against.