Oswago and Shollei flouted regulations in procurement of voter registration kits, High Court says as it upholds their convictions
30:11:2024: The High Court has upheld the Convictions of former IEBC CEO James Oswago and his deputy, Wilson Shollei in the infamous Chickengate scandal.
The Anti-Corruption Court’s Chief Magistrate, Felix Kombo, sitting in Nairobi in December 2022, convicted the two to four years in prison each or a fine of Kes7.5 each in the alternative for corruption related to the procurement of Kes1.3 billion voter identification devices for the 2013 General Election.
The two were charged alongside two others with four counts of willful failure to comply with procurement regulations and abuse of office law. Mr. Oswago and Shollei were convicted on counts 1 and 3, to which they filed the appeal. The other two accused persons were acquitted for lack of evidence.
On count 1, the two senior officials of the IEBC were accused of not revealing to the tender committee the changes that had been made to the tender specifications. In count two, they were charged with failing to reveal that the goods procured were of old technical standards.
In sustaining the convictions, Hon. Justice Prof. Nixon Sifuna of the High Court’s Anti-Corruption Division said that one of the critical issues of the 2013 General Election was the malfunctioning of the voter identification kits for which many petitions were filed after the elections.
James Oswago and Wilson Shollei, the judge said, as CEO and Deputy CEO of the IEBC, were the accounting officers of the Commission, adding that failure to adhere to procurement rules was no lesser an offence.
The judge said the prosecution’s totality of evidence demonstrated that the procurement of voter registration kits flouted regulations and wasn’t transparent and accountable, adding that the appellants were responsible for the non-compliance.
Justice Sifuna upheld the conviction after finding that the prosecution discharged its burden of proof in the trial Court beyond a reasonable doubt. He also refused to temper with the sentences.
