Ruto Declares Vacancies In IEBC Posts Held By Chebukati, 5 Others

Irene Masit is the only commissioner standing as she awaits her fate...

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Feb 14, 2023 - 16:44
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Ruto Declares Vacancies In IEBC Posts Held By Chebukati, 5 Others
IEBC chairman, Wafula Chebukati issuing William Ruto his certificate after winning the election. /WILLIAM RUTO

President William Ruto on Tuesday, February 14 declared the vacancies of the chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as well as five commissioners.

Paragraph 1 (1) of the First Schedule to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act, 2011 ("the Act") requires that at least six months before the lapse of the term of the Chairperson or a Member(s) of the Commission the President shall appoint a Selection Panel comprising of seven persons for recruitment of their successor(s) in Office.

In a Gazette notice, the Head of State declared the positions previously held by Chairman Wafula Chebukati, Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera, Commissioners Boya Molu, Abdi Guliye, Francis Wanderi and Justus Nyang'aya vacant.

IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati and commissioners Boya Molu, Abdi Guliye speaking during the launch of the Post Election Evaluation Report on January 16, 2023. /TWITTER.IEBC

Chebukati, Molu and Guliye retired after their six-year term came to an end on January 17, 2023. Cherera, Wanderi and Nyang'aya however stepped down from their roles in the midst of ongoing investigations into the 2022 general elections.

“Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 7A (2) of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act as read with Paragraph 1 (1) of the first schedule of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, declare vacancies in the positions of Chairperson and five Members,” read the Gazette notice in part. 

Irene Masit is the only commissioner standing as she awaits her fate to be determined by a tribunal chaired by Justice Aggrey Muchelule which was set up by the President to probe the conduct of the commission.

The membership of the Selection Panel tasked with picking their successors features representatives of the Parliamentary Service Commission, the Public Service Commission, the Political Parties Liaison Committee, the Law Society of Kenya, and the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya.

Chebukati on January 18, 2023, penned a farewell letter to members of the public, which was shared on his social media platforms at 1.46 am, coming at a time when details of an alleged plot to kidnap and eliminate him before the August 9 elections were made public by President Ruto.

"I was appointed Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on 18th January 2017 for a constitutional term of six years. Yesterday I successfully completed my term.

"I wish to thank Kenyans for giving me the opportunity to serve them. It has been an honour. It was undoubtedly a challenging assignment, but I served my country to the best of my ability and in accordance with the oath of office I took," he wrote in part at the time.

Turning to the commissioners and chairperson set to succeed him, Chebukati asked them to stick to their mandate in their respective roles at the Commission, which he left in a stable position.

"I leave the IEBC with solid governance structures and a stable permanent secretariat. To the IEBC staff, thank you for working tirelessly and with dedication despite difficult circumstances at times.

"You are the true heroes. To the future Commission, fidelity to the law is the key to success at IEBC," he added.

Chebukati, Guliye and Molu oversaw the 2017 and 2022 general elections, with the former's results nullified by the Supreme Court which ordered a fresh election, and in both of the 2017 general election editions, former President Uhuru Kenyatta won.

Despite Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party Leader Raila Odinga tabling a successful petition at the Supreme Court, he lost in a similar attempt to overturn President Ruto's win in the 2022 general elections after the apex court upheld Ruto's victory.

Cherera, Wanderi, Masit and Nyang’aya were brought in about a year to the 2022 polls to replace Roselyn Akombe, Margaret Mwachanya and Paul Kurgat as well as former vice chairperson Connie Nkatha Maina, who all resigned.

IEBC Vice-chair, Juliana Cherera during a press address at Serena Hotel in Nairobi. /FILE

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