Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) CEO James Oswago has been sentenced to 4 years in prison.
Oswago was jailed over his involvement in the irregular award of a Sh1.3 billion tender for the supply of voter materials in the 2013 General elections.
Oswago was sentenced in line with his co-accused, Wilson Shollei who at the time was former IEBC Deputy Commission Secretary in charge of Support Services.
According to Trial Magistrate Felix Kombo, the two violated procurement laws, when they purchased electronic voter identification devices for the March 4 General Elections,
He stated that it was the responsibility of Oswago and Shollei to inform the commission plenary session on the acquisition of the devices and that any deviations would have necessitated contract revision to be authorized by the tender committee.
In condemning them, the magistrate described their behavior as “deliberate and willful.”
“Both of them had a legal obligation to guarantee that the procurement violations were not committed,” Kombo decided.
He further stated that as the accounting officer, Oswago is largely accountable under the law to ensure IEBC complies with procurement requirements.
The court stated that the duo’s activities called the integrity of the elections into question.
“If the tender had been correctly written, there would have been no concerns with requirements or number changes. The crisis was self-inflicted and jeopardized the country’s stability “Kombo said
Oswago and Shollei were arraigned in court in 2013 and accused with failing to comply with procurement legislation.
The two reportedly failed to guarantee that the IEBC tender committee accepted the amendments made to the contract given to Face Technologies Limited for the delivery of Electronic Voter Identification in Tender No. IEBC14/2011-2012.
