Mwengi Mutuse & MPs To Move To Court Against Cases Preventing IEBC Reconstitution
He claimed that a section of leaders were deliberately scuttling the process of reconstituting the electoral body by filing cases in court.
Marvin Chege 
Kibwezi West Member of Parliament (MP) Mwengi Mutuse has announced his intention to move to court seeking orders that the cases against the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) be dropped.
Speaking during a burial in Kibwezi, Makueni County over the weekend, the lawmaker who successfully orchestrated the removal of Rigathi Gachagua as Deputy President, accused a section of leaders for allegedly fueling the delayed reconstitution of the country's premier electoral body.
He claimed that a section of leaders were deliberately scuttling the process of reconstituting the electoral body by filing cases in court.
IEBC CEO Marjan Hussein with the former commissioners including former chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, during a past media address. /FILE
“We have seen that there is a monopoly. There are people who are going to court to prevent the reconstitution of IEBC so that they start attacking the government," the Vice Chairperson of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) stated.
“Those involved must declare your intentions because we wanted IEBC to be formed last year, yesterday and today. We know your monopoly and we will not allow you to derail Kenyans.”
He called for the IEBC selection panel to be allowed to carry out its mandate, adding that appointing new commissioners is long overdue and the country needs to embark on early preparations for the 2027 General Election.
Mutuse added that reconstituting the commission will pave the way for conducting by-elections in constituencies that do not have elected leaders.
“I will go to court so that we conclude those cases so that Kenyans have an IEBC to conduct by-elections and prepare for the next elections,” he said.
Currently, there is an injunction at the Court of Appeal challenging the setting up of a selection panel which will be tasked with finding new IEBC commissioners. Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has called for the lifting of the injunction, accusing the state of using a proxy to deliberately delay the process of hiring a new commission through court cases.
"They have wasted a lot of time. Let them withdraw the case that is state-sponsored through a judge in Kiambu. That was a tactic to delay reconstitution of the panel and then the IEBC," Kalonzo stated, adding "The ball is in William Ruto's court to tell his proxies to withdraw the matter in the Court of Appeal."
Mutuse and Kalonzo's calls come amid the growing number of court cases challenging the constitution of the IEBC even as the 2027 general elections near.
On Friday, December 13, the High Court declared the IEBC Amendment Bill 2023 unconstitutional. Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled on the constitutional status of the Bill, with its nullification meaning that President William Ruto's selection panel for the electoral body was rendered illegal.
According to Justice Mugambi, the lack of public participation proved enough grounds to annul the laws.
The ruling meant that all the processes that had been arrived at including the agreement between President Ruto and Raila Odinga emanating from the National Dialogue Committee Report (NADCO), be redundant.
However, Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, whose petition was critical in the delivery of the ruling, praised the court’s ruling, stating that it provides clarity on IEBC’s constitution and the chaos surrounding its selection panel.
"There has been confusion around IEBC because two laws were governing the same issue. Some individuals nominated under the old law were even receiving allowances while waiting to take their seats," Omtatah told Citizen TV.
Although the 2024 Act has since replaced it, Senator Omtatah argues that the ruling clears the air on the IEBC constitution debate and exposes Parliamentary overreach as the Senate passed the law without proper consultations.
The annulled bill of 2023 was different from the IEBC (Amendment) Bill, 2024 which was assented to law on July 9, 2024, which paved the way for the establishment of the selection panel for the appointment of new IEBC commissioners.
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