Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chairman Wafula
Chebukati (centre) addresses journalists outside Anniversary Towers in
Nairobi on August 1, 2017. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Electoral commission chairman Wafula Chebukati has assured
Kenyans that the agency's poll systems and servers are safe and secure
and that the team will deliver results as expected.
Addressing
the media at the agency's offices at Anniversary Towers on Tuesday, Mr
Chebukati said service providers are handling technical work at the
agency and the death of ICT Manager Chris Msando will not affect the
agency in delivering its mandate.
“Our
servers, networks and systems are secure. We have service providers and
come the day of election, we are going to deliver the results as
expected,” said Mr Chebukati.
PASSWORDS
Mr
Chebukati laughed off speculation that Mr Msando was the only person
with access codes or password to the Independent Electoral and
Boundaries Commission's (IEBC) information, communication and technology
(ICT) system.
He said no staff at the commission had any password yet and whoever tortured Mr Msando found nothing useful.
This was corroborated by IEBC executive officer Ezra Chiloba,
who also described the speculation as "false and propaganda", saying
that matters of ICT governance cannot be left entirely to an individual
in any organisation.
OUTSIDE EXPERTS
Mr
Chebukati further said that the IEBC does not need any assistance from
experts from outside, adding that Mr Msando, who was working on the ICT
transmission programme before his death, left behind a team that was
going to carry on with the work.
“In
the course of his duty, Mr Msando left behind a team that is going to
carry on with the work. I want to assure Kenyans that there is no cause
for concern as the team left behind will do the work," he said.
For
his part, Mr Chiloba said there are many components of the election
project that were being implemented by different individuals.
“We
are not thinking about replacements, we are thinking about elections.
It is a more complex system and it is not compromised. It is not about
access codes, it is about very many things working together,” he said.
SECURITY
On
security for their staff, Mr Chebukati appealed to the government to
provide it, especially for the returning officers and senior staff.
He
said there is an ongoing discussion between the IEBC and
Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet to map out strategies on how
to secure their staff.
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