Tension is griping in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as two staffs succumb to Covid-19 while 12 others are in critical condition.
Their colleagues are in panic and have accused the management of forcing them to go to work yet the offices have not been fumigated.
Chairman Wafula Chebukati denied reports that his wife, daughter and himself had also contracted the virus.
“I know there are some people who would want me to be sick but I am okay and working in the office,” Chebukati said.
According to the Star, acting IEBC chief executive officer Hussein Marjan said that for over a fortnight, the commission has been overwhelmed by virus infections.
“In the last two weeks, more cases of Covid-19 related infections have been reported in the commission leading to hospitalisation of the infected staff and leaving some in very critical condition,” Marjan said.
The news emerged on the day President Uhuru Kenyatta convened an extraordinary session of the National and County Governments Co-ordinating Summit to discuss the rising Covid-19 cases.
In a statement, State House spokesperson Kanze Dena on Wednesday said the session will be held on November 4.
“The extraordinary session has been convened in light of the resurgence of Covid-19 infections across our nation, as exhibited by the fact that Kenya has recorded its highest number of Covid-19 monthly fatalities in October 2020,” the statement read.
Among casualties of the virus is Isiolo IEBC county manager David Katitia Ole Melita who died on October 17, days after attending a commission workshop in Mombasa.
Melita will be buried on Friday at his rural home at Ilparakuo, Magadi in Kajiado county.
The other staffer who died on Tuesday is a pool driver working at the IEBC headquarters in Nairobi.
The Mombasa workshop was a “super spreader” event where all 47 county officials attended as were senior managers from the headquarters and the three commissioners. At the end of that event, six people tested positive.
Marjan has banned any physical meetings of more than 20 staffers unless approved by the management.
“Staff who interacted with any of the recently confirmed Covid-19 cases to go on self-testing and self-quarantine for 14 days and report status to the CEO or the director HRA,” Marjan said in the memo.
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The 12 IEBC staffers in the hospital are said to be fighting for their lives in various intensive care units.
“For the record, we have lost two staff to Covid-19 but the commission has put in place measures to contain any further spread of the virus to guarantee staff of their health,” Chebukati told a local publication.
The chairman dispelled fears that the Covid-19 infections among staff would hamper the commission’s activities including the upcoming by-elections.
The commission is also preparing to conduct a referendum, months before the 2022 general elections.
There are concerns that the spike in the Covid-19 infections could affect IEBC’s plans to conduct at least seven by-elections including the Msambweni parliamentary poll on December 15.
The commission is also expected to start preparations for a referendum likely to be held by April next year despite the surge in Covid-19 infections.
He dismissed claims that the management had been slow in responding to the concerns raised by staff, saying no complaints have been reported.
The commission formed a Covid-19 response committee to recommend protocols to be followed during the forthcoming by-elections.
The team has recommended an ambulance on standby in every ward, temperature checks before entry into the polling station and voters carrying their own pens.
A community health worker will be designated a queuing clerk for each polling station to check the temperature of the voters and candidates.
