Inside the circus that defines the hiring of IEBC commissioners
IEBC Selection Panel members (from left) Novince Euralia Atieno, Evans Misati James, Charity Kisotu, Nelson Makanda, Bethuel Sugut, Fatuma Saman and Benson Ngugi Njeri at KICC, Nairobi, on March 6, 2023.
During every transitional period, the electoral commission becomes a target for dismantling by politicians—and taxpayers have to foot the bill.
It is a price Kenyans have to pay for the mistrust and the high-octane political interests that define the country’s elections.
A price that comes in the form of a hefty send-off package for poll commissioners whose terms are cut short prematurely, or burning millions in subsequent recruitment of new officials to the electoral body.
The latest circus in the hiring of new commissioners for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) fits into a script that has been replayed in the past. Mr Bob Mukangi, a member of the defunct Committee of Experts (CoE) that wrote the 2010 constitution, blames political interests for the transitional issues at the commission.
“Basically, it’s a case of own the referee, own the match,” says Mr Mukangi.
The law says that at least six months before the expiry of the term of the chairperson or a member of the commission or within 14 days of the declaration of a vacancy in the office of the chairperson or member of the commission, the President shall appoint a selection panel.
The panel shall consist of seven persons for the purposes of appointment of the chairperson or member of the commission.
IEBC has vacancies after the tenure of commissioners Wafula Chebukati (Chairman), Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye expired. The four other commissioners, Ms Juliana Cherera, (Vice Chairperson), Mr Justus Nyangaya, Francis Nyangaya and Ms Irene Masit, were forced out of office following the fallout over last year’s presidential election.
The four were accused of favouring opposition leader Raila Odinga by pushing for a run-off election to stop the declaration of Dr William Ruto as President.
Petitions were filed in parliament seeking the formation of a tribunal by President Ruto to investigate their conduct after accusations that they disputed the announcement by Mr Chebukati of Dr Ruto as the winner of the presidential election.
The petitions also accused them of trying to moderate the presidential election results to force a runoff between Dr Ruto and Mr Odinga.
The National Assembly adopted a report of its committee on Justice and Legal Affairs recommending the formation of a tribunal to investigate them.
The resolution saw Ms Cherera, Mr Nyangaya and Mr Wanderi opt to resign instead of face the tribunal headed by Court of Appeal Judge Aggrey Muchelule.
Ms Masit faced the tribunal, which subsequently recommended her removal from office.
The four had been appointed following the controversial exit of their predecessors.
In the lead up to the 2017 August presidential election, in which President Kenyatta was running for re-election against Mr Odinga, the electoral commission imploded into partisan feuds.
The wrangles intensified after the Supreme Court nullified President Kenyatta’s victory and ordered a repeat election in October 2017.
Dr Roselyn Akombe, a commissioner, fled to the US amid death threats ahead of the presidential election re-run. After the controversial fresh election that was boycotted by Mr Odinga, three other commissioners quit, saying they could no longer work with Mr Chebukati. Ms Connie Maina (Vice Chairperson), Mr Paul Kurgat and Ms Margaret Mwachanya resigned in 2018.
Also Read: Hiring of IEBC commissioners to go on
Their resignation would lead to the recruitment of Ms Cherera, Mr Wanderi, Mr Nyangaya and Ms Masit who were appointed on September 2, 2021 by then President Kenyatta. They were sworn-in 12 days later to serve their six years, but it wasn’t to be.
Their unceremonious exit would come less than a year into office. But their exit made the longtime agitations for staggered appointment of the IEBC commissioners a reality.
Governance expert and political analyst Mr Barasa Nyukuri says that each of the political players in the country always wants an IEBC that is compliant and friendly.
He says it is due to these “high stakes and political interests of different players” that transition at the commission has been marked with controversy.
“There is a lot of suspicion and mistrust which transcends legal and administrative reforms at the commission. As long as the interest continues, IEBC will always be discredited,” says Mr Nyukuri, adding, “We are yet to get an IEBC team of integrity and credibility that can earn the trust and confidence across the political divide.”
But the cloud of uncertainty at the commission goes back many years. After the 2007 general elections, the then Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) chairman Samuel Kivuitu and his team were hounded out of office for conducting a disputed election.
The 2007 presidential election that saw the controversial re-election of President Mwai Kibaki, which was disputed by his main challenger, Mr Odinga, led to the post-election violence that led to the deaths of over 1,300 Kenyans.
The departure of Kivuitu and team led to the creation of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) chaired by Isaak Hassan.
The IIEC started on a clean slate and was hailed for conducting a free, fair and transparent 2010 referendum on the new constitution. With the new constitution, the commission mutated into the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Mr Hassan, who had overseen a flawless 2010 referendum on the new constitution was retained and appointed on November 6, 2011 as the new IEBC chairman with the 2013 General Election in the pipeline. Together with the other commissioners, their six-year term was to end on October 6, 2016.
But trouble beckoned after the commission was accused of bungling the 2013 presidential election that saw Mr Uhuru Kenyatta declared winner against Mr Odinga.
As the opposition agitated for reforms at the commission, they demanded that Mr Hassan’s team leave office as it was not competent to handle the 2017 general election. A joint panel of the National Assembly and Senate on electoral reforms was formed in 2016 to come up with legal, policy and administrative reforms ahead of the 2017 general election.
The report of the committee was adopted by the two Houses leading to various amendments to the IEBC Act and other electoral laws. The report recommended that a dignified and negotiated vacation from the office of the Isaak Hassan-led commissioners be agreed upon by the government within two weeks of adoption of the report. The report also recommended that there be a seamless transition between the then-commissioners and those to take over from them.
Fast-forward to 2022. The new Kenya Kwanza government pushed through an amendment to the IEBC Bill that changed the composition of the selection panel to appoint new electoral commissioners. The Opposition has rejected the selection panel saying President Ruto wants to influence the 2027 elections.
