The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has appointed Moses Ledama Sunkuli as its Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Commission Secretary following the sudden exit of Marjan Hussein, who had been at the helm since 2022.
In a statement issued on Thursday, February 5, IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon said Sunkuli, who currently serves as Director of Electoral Operations, has been appointed to the position for six months or until a substantive holder is recruited.
“We thank Mr. Marjan for his dedication and professional service to the IEBC and wish him well in his future endeavours,” said Ethekon.
He added that the Commission is committed to fast-tracking the recruitment of a substantive Chief Executive Officer/Commission Secretary and ensuring a seamless transition while maintaining the highest standards of excellence in service delivery.
The CEO position had previously sparked criticism from opposition leaders, particularly Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who argued that the former IEBC chief was unsuitable due to his handling and eventual extension of the Smartmatic contract in 2024.
Musyoka has claimed that Smartmatic is a fraudulent system, citing concerns over the security of electronic transmission of votes. “We have raised serious concerns about Smartmatic… an illegal thing… we are not supposed to do it,” he said.
Jubilee Party’s Fred Matiang’i also advised the IEBC to terminate its deal with the Smartmatic technology firm to avoid complications during the 2027 General Election.
“We learned lessons from 2022; there are things we should have addressed early if we had the capacity, and we are starting to address them early now,” Matiang’i said.
Democratic Action Party leader Eugene Wamalwa and People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua have also expressed discomfort with the Venezuela-based electoral technology company, possibly signaling deeper concerns within the electoral body ahead of Marjan’s exit.
“This same technology was used in Uganda, and the KIEMS kits failed; we do not want that in Kenya,” said Wamalwa.
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