Erastus Edung, six commissioners take over IEBC after swearing in
Erastus Edung, Ann Njeri Nderitu, Moses Alutalala Mukhwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan, Francis Odhiambo Aduol, and Fahima Araphat Abdallah have been sworn in as Chairman and Commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
In a ceremony held at the Supreme Court of Kenya led by Chief Justice Martha Koome, the seven have taken the oath of office and promise to serve the nation with integrity and impartiality.
The swearing-in came hours after a three-judge bench, including Justices Roselyne Aburili, John Chigiti, and Bahati Mwamuye, upheld the appointment of the IEBC chair and commissioners but nullified the gazette notice issued by Ruto to formalize their appointments.
The court dismissed a petition seeking to invalidate the appointments, finding that the recruitment process complied with constitutional and legal requirements.
However, the court held that the gazette notice published by the president was unlawful as it contravened an existing conservatory order.
As such, the court directed the president to issue a fresh gazette notice to regularise the appointments, paving the way for the swearing-in ceremony.
Hours after the high court directive, President Ruto gazetted the appointment of Edung and the six commissioners, leading to the scheduling of their swearing-in in today.
Ethekon will serve as the IEBC chair for a term of six years.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 250 (2) as read with section 5 (2) of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act and Paragraph 4 of the First Schedule to the Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces appoint Erastus Edung Ethekon to be the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, for six (6) years,” the notice read.
The commissioners will also serve a six-year term.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 250 (2) as read with section 5 (2) of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act and Paragraph 4 of the First Schedule to the Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces appoint Ann Njeri Nderitu, Moses Alutalala Mukhwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan, Francis Odhiambo Aduol, Fahima Arafhat Abdallah, to be members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, for six (6) years,” the notice read.
