NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 4-The position of Chief Executive Officer Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has increasingly come to resemble a political minefield rather than a stable public office, with the last three holders exiting unceremoniously amid controversies and legal trouble.
The latest casualty is Hussein Marjan, whose departure on February 3, 2026, capped a turbulent chapter in the history of an office that has become synonymous with political storms, court battles, and unrelenting public scrutiny.
From disputed elections and procurement scandals to reform demands and factional politics, the IEBC CEO’s role has evolved into one of the most pressured jobs in the country’s public service.
The tenures of the last three IEBC CEOs, namely James Oswago, Ezra Chiloba and Marjan illustrate how the position has repeatedly turned into a battleground, with each occupant leaving under a cloud.
Marjan’s troubled exit
Marjan’s resignation marked the latest chapter in the uneasy history of the IEBC secretariat.
Having served the commission in both acting and substantive capacities for nearly nine years, his tenure unfolded against a backdrop of political contestation, prolonged court disputes and an institution that at times operated without a full quorum of commissioners.
Pressure on Marjan intensified after the 2022 General Election, with the United Opposition listing his removal among its key reform demands.
Leaders, including Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka and DAP-K Eugene Wamalw,a publicly questioned his suitability to oversee the 2027 polls, accusing him of mismanaging the 2022 election and being overly aligned with the Executive allegations he consistently denied.
His tenure was further complicated by legal setbacks. In June 2025, the High Court found him in contempt of court for failing to settle a Sh200 million debt owed to an advertising firm contracted during the 2017 elections.
During a prolonged period when the commission lacked commissioners after 2023, Marjan effectively presided over a weakened institution without quorum, drawing criticism over delays in by-elections, boundary reviews and policy decisions.
Disputes surrounding election technology procurement and claims over the handling of the 2022 presidential results kept him firmly in the political crossfire with the recent protracted wars with the opposition being over Smartmatic election technology.
Chiloba’s dramatic fall
Before Marjan, the office was held by Ezra Chiloba, whose tenure between 2015 and 2018 coincided with one of the most volatile moments in electoral history.
As the administrative head during the 2017 General Election, Chiloba became a central figure after the Supreme Court nullified the presidential results over irregularities and illegalities. The opposition, led by the late Raila Odinga, accused him of engineering electoral fraud, branding him the coup plotter in chief.
Weeks of protests followed, with demonstrators demanding his resignation ahead of the repeat presidential election. Internally, relations between Chiloba and then IEBC chair,the late Wafula Chebukati deteriorated sharply, with disputes over access to the results transmission system and the use of KIEMS kits spilling into the public domain.
Chiloba’s removal was drawn-out and messy. In April 2018, he was suspended via email to pave the way for investigations into procurement irregularities linked to the 2017 elections.
The move triggered further turmoil, including the resignation of three commissioners who accused Chebukati of unilateral decision-making. After months of legal wrangling, Chiloba was formally dismissed in October 2018 for failing to appear before a disciplinary panel.
Despite the disgraceful exit, Chiloba later resurfaced in public service, serving as Director General of the Communications Authority of Kenya and later as Kenya’s Consul-General in Los Angeles.
Oswago and ‘Chickengate’
The woes of the IEBC CEO’s office date back even further to James Oswago, whose tenure became inseparable from the infamous Chickengate scandal.
The case, uncovered by the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office, revealed a bribery scheme involving British printing firm Smith & Ouzman, with illicit payments to the country’s electoral and examination officials codenamed chicken.
Oswago was accused of presiding over irregular procurement processes, including the controversial supply of ballot papers for the South Mugirango by-election. Prosecutors alleged that procurement rules were bypassed and that he received Sh2 million as an inducement tied to the contracts.
In December 2022, the Anti-Corruption Court convicted Oswago and his deputy Wilson Shollei, fining each Sh7.5 million or sentencing them to four years in prison.
The High Court upheld the convictions in October 2024, ruling that as accounting officers, they bore responsibility for procurement failures that contributed to the malfunction of voter identification kits during the 2013 General Election.
Oswago has consistently maintained his innocence, arguing that public perception of the scandal has overshadowed the specific legal findings.
Taken together, the exits of Oswago, Chiloba and Marjan paint a picture of an office burdened by political interference, legal vulnerability and institutional fragility.
