President William Ruto and Azimio One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga are at a warring spree over the plan by four petitioners to remove the four electoral commissioners with Raila hinting at mass action.
The petitioners seeking the removal of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) vice chairperson Juliana Cherera and commissioners Irene Masit, Justus Nyang’aya and Francis Wanderi made their final submissions yesterday.
According to President William Ruto, the four officials are to be held to account by Parliament for attempting to overthrow the will of Kenyans in the August 9 general elections.
He said that Raila and former President Uhuru Kenyatta are “lords of impunity” who destroyed oversight institutions through the handshake fraud.
“They should allow Parliament to hold to account rogue officials who put the nation in danger by subverting the democratic will of the people. The new order is the rule of law, not the wishes of big men,” he stated.
Raila on the other hand said the opposition would explore every avenue to stop the removal of the four commissioners including calling for mass protest.
He described the attempted ouster as a scheme to capture the IEBC for purposes of the 2027 General Election.
“There is due process and natural justice. Things are not done at the whims of the Executive. The rule of law must prevail and not jungle laws that you want to insinuate so as to subjugate Kenyans to a conveyor belt system of elections come 2027,” he stated.
Members of the committee who are allies of the Azimio One Kenya Coalition boycotted yesterday’s hearing citing it as a charade operated by individuals receiving instructions from State House.
Minority Whip Junet Mohammed said the removal of the four is part of a wider scheme by the Kenya Kwanza government to put in place a ‘user-friendly’ electoral commission.
He also said that it is surprising that most Kenyans are struggling with a high cost of living but the President is busy engaging in petty political scores.
