Ruto Gazettes Changes In IEBC 

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

In a Gazette notice dated February 14, the Head of State declared the positions that were previously held by Chairman Wafula Chebukati, Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera, Commissioners Boya Molu, Abdi Guliye, Francis Wanderi and Justus Nyang’aya had fallen vacant. 

Chebukati, Molu and Guliye retired in January 2023, after serving their full terms.

Cherea, Wanderi and Nyang’aya, on the other hand, resigned against the backdrop of ongoing investigations into the August 2022 General Election. 

Former IEBC commissioners Juliana Cherera (second left), Justus Nyang’aya, Francis Wanderi and Commissioner Irene Masit.

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“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. 

Commissioner Irene Masit, however, still occupies her position as a commissioner awaiting her fate after Justice Aggrey Muchelule was picked to chair a tribunal probing the conduct of the commission.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act demands that the President appoints a seven-member team for purposes of appointment of the chairperson or member of the Commission.

Chebukati, Guliye and Molu were part of the commission that oversaw managed 2017 and 2022 General Elections, both of which were contested at the Supreme Court.

The trio worked with former vice chairperson Connie Nkatha Maina and commissioners Roselyn Akombe, Margaret Mwachanya and Paul Kurgat who all resigned from the electoral body after the 2022 General Election. 

Connie, Akombe, Mwachanya and Paul Kurgat were replaced by Cherera, Wanderi, Masit and  Nyang’aya who oversaw the 2022 elections.

In 2017, former President Uhuru Kenyatta won the election which was later nullified after Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party Leader Raila Odinga successfully petitioned the Supreme Court.

Under Chebukati’s watch, Raila once again petitioned the Supreme Court challenging William Ruto’s win but lost after the apex court affirmed the credibility of the August 2022 Presidential Election. 

Former IEBC commissioners Moya Bolu, Abdi Guliye and Chair Wafula Chebukati during the launch of the 2022 Post-Election Evaluation Report on Monday, January 16, 2023.

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