IEBC chairman, commissioners to be sworn in afresh following re-appointment by President Ruto
President Ruto re-gazetted the appointments in a special issue of the Kenya Gazette dated July 10, after a High Court ruling yesterday quashed earlier gazettements but gave the green light for the appointments to be lawfully reissued
Erastus Edung Ethekon is set to take oath as Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) later today alongside six commissioners following the regularization of their appointments by President William Ruto.
President Ruto re-gazetted the appointments in a special issue of the Kenya Gazette dated July 10, after a High Court ruling yesterday quashed earlier gazettements but gave the green light for the appointments to be lawfully reissued.
They will be sworn in today by Chief Justice Martha Koome at the Supreme Court.
The commissioners who will take Oath of Office alongside Ethekon include; Ann Njeri Nderitu, Moses Alutalala Mukhwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan, Francis Odhiambo Aduol, and Fahima Arafhat Abdallah will be sworn in today by Chief Justice Martha Koome at the Supreme Court.
This is after President William Ruto recently appointed them through a special gazette notice, following a court directive that had previously invalidated the President’s earlier notice of appointment.
According to a gazette notice issued on Thursday, July 10, 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.
Late yesterday, a High Court bench upheld the appointment of the IEBC chair and commissioners but nullified the gazette notice issued by Ruto to formalise 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 to issuance of a fresh gazette notice to regularize the appointments.
