The process of having the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in place suffered yet another setback after lawyer Apollo Mboya moved to court targeting one of the newly appointed members.
The lawyer filed a petition at the High Court challenging Professor Adams Oloo’s appointment to the IEBC Selection panel. The appointment was made by President William Ruto.
In the petition filed at the Milimani Court, lawyer Apollo Mboya argued that Oloo’s appointment was a conflict of interest since he serves as an advisor to the President.
The lawyer observed that the appointment was an affront to the principle of separation of powers and representation intended by the IEBC Act Cap 7C since he already serves as a Strategy and Communications Advisor in the Office of the President.
Nelson Makanda, the chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) selection panel, addresses the press at the lapse of the IEBC commissioners’ application deadline at the KICC on March 28, 2023.
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The petitioner further argues that Oloo cannot faithfully, impartially, and in good conscience be an independent representative of the Parliamentary Service Commission in the panel which is by law supposed to be a people’s watchdog.
According to the petition, Prof Oloo cannot purport to be a representative of the people on whose he was appointed to Act while serving as an advisor to the president, an executive arm of government.
The lawyer, therefore, wants the court to take action against the panel member before the process of vetting applicants for the positions of IEBC chairperson and commissioners begins.
On February 2, the panel’s Chairperson Nelson Makanda invited interested candidates to apply for the position before February 15.
“I am aware that the call for applications expires on February 15, 2025, and this issue can and should be addressed by the court well before then to restore credibility to this hallowed process,” lawyer Mboya pointed out in the petition.
President Ruto appointed the seven-member panel amid pressure from different stakeholders including Kenyans to urgently establish the IEBC selection panel, with claims that he was interfering with independent institutions and stalling reforms.
On Monday, January 27, Chief Justice Martha Koome presided over the oath taking of the seven members appointed to the panel. The seven included Kiome Lindah Gakii, Prof. Oloo Adams, James Evans Misati, Nicodemus Kipchirchir Bore, Ambassador Koki Muli Grignon, Tanui Andrew Kipkoech, Dr. and Nelson Makanda.
The panel promised Kenyans that it would have a functional IEBC in less than three months. The selection panel revealed that under the stewardship of Makanda, they intended to end the uncertainty surrounding the commission in the next 85 days.
President William Ruto signing an MoU in Cairo Egypt on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.
PCS