The high court has nullified the Gazette notice appointing IEBC commissioners but has upheld their appointment to the positions.
A three judge bench delivered its judgment this evening in the petition challenging the appointment of the Chairperson and Commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The Court dismissed a petition that sought to invalidate the appointment of the IEBC Chairperson and six Commissioners, citing lack of proof that the recruitment process was tainted by conflict of interest or irregularities.
The judges held that the petitioners failed to demonstrate any constitutional or procedural violations in the selection and vetting of the officials by the IEBC Selection Panel.
However, in a significant turn, the Court found that the Gazette Notice issued by President William Ruto to formalise the appointments was unlawful, as it violated a valid and subsisting conservatory order earlier issued by the Court. The judges ruled that the Executive had acted in defiance of a court order, rendering the
The legal effect is that the appointments, while substantively upheld, remain incomplete until they are properly formalised in accordance with the law. The President is therefore required to issue a fresh Gazette Notice to regularise the appointments in compliance with the Court’s judgment. Once this is done, the path will be clear for the Chairperson and Commissioners to take the oath of office before the Chief Justice and formally assume their roles at the Commission.
