Embattled Ezra Chiloba was on Friday sacked as chief executive officer of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
In a statement, he said the outcome was predetermined and the process was a mere formality. Chiloba warned that the issues he faced will affect the next officer if not addressed.
He said the matter of his disciplinary process revealed a major governance crisis at the electoral agency.
“My employment termination should not be seen as an issue of my person but that of the holder of the office,” Chiloba said.
“I remain at hand to support any independent and objective review of the conduct of the 2017 General Election and all related matters.”
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati had twice suspended the CEO, citing procurement malpractices ahead of the August and October 2017 elections.
Chiloba confirmed that he received his employment termination letter, signed by the chairman.
“The letter claims that I had twice been invited to appear before the disciplinary committee of the Commission, but I failed to show up; hence the decision to terminate my employment,” he said.
Chiloba said when first asked to appear, he was away attending classes at the University of Oxford. He is pursuing a masters in Major Programme Management.
“I communicated my unavailability to commissioners through the chairman’s office via email. While at school, I read in the media, the development of my being sacked, a decision that was later rescinded and communicated through the same channel,” he said.
Chiloba said he was informed of a meeting on Thursday, October 11, where he was to appear before Chebukati, Abdi Guliye, and Boya Molu to defend himself.
He poked holes on the decision, saying the same three commissioners, who voted to send him on compulsory leave, were the same members of the disciplinary committee.
Chiloba said the proceeding “was is in itself questionable” upon review of how the Commission had conducted itself during the said audit.
The sacked CEO lamented that the commissioners unprocedurally voted to send him on compulsory leave “allowing them to stage-manage an internal audit that would justify their end.”
He added that the IEBC, against standard practice, did not give him a chance to defend himself over the audit queries.
“The Commission proceeded to frame the issues raised in the internal audit as disciplinary, leading to a show cause letter. It is through the show cause letter that I saw the internal audit report for the first time,” Chiloba said.
He added that on three occasions, he requested the Commission to allow him access to the audit documents, staff who participated in various procurement processes and financial management to prepare the responses.
“While preparing on how to respond to the issues raised, I was unable to frame any defence, owing to the fact that the Commission had deliberately denied me that chance,” he said.
Chiloba said he remained grateful for the opportunity to serve the country and to the staff of the IEBC “with whom we worked as a dedicated and professional team.”
“But much still remains to be done to achieve the level of excellence we once dreamt of. It is still possible,” he said.