The Senate can proceed with the gazettement of nine nominees of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) selection panel after one of the cases was settled.
Giving a ruling from the Kiambu Law Court on Friday, January 24, 2025, High Court judge Dola Chepkwony stated that the petitioner- Boniface Njogu’s contention that the selection panel was not constituted in line with the provision of Article 10 (2) of the Constitution was unmerited.
“Having established that the petitioner has not proven any constitutional and statutory violations, the prayers to quash the list are not merited. This petition is therefore dismissed,” Justice Chepkwony ruled.
“It is this court’s view that the principle of inclusiveness under Article 10 (2) in context to selecting nominees to the IEBC selection panel as provided for under the IEBC Amendment Act contemplates a broad diversity but particularly regarding gender and integrity.”
Ethnic inclusivity
Justice Chepkwony equally invalidated Njogu’s petition, stating that four of the nominees to the IEBC selection panel were from two ethnic groups and were in contravention of the constitution.
“It is now settled in our jurisprudence that the standard is not one of absolute representation of every ethnic or regional group but rather a demonstratable effort towards reflecting Kenya’s diversity,” the judge stated.
“In a country of more than 42 communities, it is absurd that four nominees from the list (Caroline Kituku, Koki Muli, Andrew Tanui Kipkoech and Nicodemus Bore Kipchichir) would come from the same region or community. The list does not adhere to regional/ ethnic balance on such a critical national process and it flies on the face of Article 10 of the Constitution,” Njogu’s petition read in part.
He equally argued that the selection panel nominee list did not meet the five per cent representation requirement of persons with disabilities (PwDs).
Pending court case
However, Justice Chepkwony ruled that the petitioner did not advance sufficient evidence to back claims that PwDs had applied for the positions and were turned away.
“This court cannot conclude that there was a violation of Article 54 of the Constitution. The petitioner has advanced insufficient evidence to warrant the recruitment process be deemed to have violated the Consitution,” Justice Chepkwony ruled.
While the ruling offers some relief, another case is still pending at the Court of Appeal involving a dispute between two nominees fronted by the minority coalition, Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition party.
National Liberal Party (NLP) leader Augustus Muli contested his removal from the IEBC selection panel nominees list and his subsequent replacement with Koki Muli.
While the Azimio la Umoja coalition argued that the change was to achieve gender balance, Augustus believes he is the rightful owner of the position, noting that he was elected by 16 of the 23 parties in the coalition.
“As a representative of 16 parties, I represent millions of Kenyans, and I couldn’t let them get away with it, so, I went to the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) and they said the IEBC selection panel should be reconstituted immediately with my name,” Muli said on Thursday, January 23, 2025.
“If that would have happened, right now we would be having a complete IEBC in place.”
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