The life and times of Wafula Wanyonyi Chebukati who has died aged 64 years

Former Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati is dead.

The family confirmed that Chebukati died at at a Nairobi hospital last night after spending a week at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at The Nairobi Hospital after battling prolonged illness for the last two years.

Speaking to the press outside Lee Funeral Home, family spokesperson Eric Nyongesa Wafula explained that the family will hold a meeting today evening to discuss pertinent matters including whether to conduct a postmortem to determine the cause of death.

“Last night, we lost the former IEBC chairman. He passed on in hospital. All that the family is requesting is that kindly allow them some privacy. We will issue a formal communication by tomorrow after a family meeting. He was unwell and rested yesterday past 11 pm,” Wafula said.

“The family has yet to decide whether to do a postmortem to know the cause of death,” Nyongesa added.

The former IEBC boss has been in and out of hospital both locally and abroad particularly in Germany.

Chebukati oversaw the hotly contested August 2022 presidential elections presiding over a sharply divided commission and endured physical attack at the Bomas of Kenya during the declaration of President William Ruto as the then president-elect retired in February 2023.

President Ruto has led the country in mourning Chebukati terming him as a “principled and diligent leader who served the nation with integrity,” President Ruto said.

“I have received the news of the passing of former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chairperson Wafula Chebukati with profound sorrow. Chebukati was a principled and diligent leader who served the nation with integrity. His death is a great loss to our country. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time,” the president said.

On his part, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta said Chebukati played a critical role in strengthening Kenya’s electoral landscape.

“It is with deep sadness that I have learned of the passing of Wafula Chebukati, former Chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). Throughout his time in office, he played a pivotal role in shaping our nation’s electoral landscape, often navigating intricate challenges with remarkable resilience,” Uhuru said.

The former president prayed for comfort to the family and friends as they come to terms with his passing. “My heart goes out to his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time. May they find strength and solace in cherished memories.”

He was mourned by other leaders including National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula among others.

He has left behind wife Mary Chebukati who works as the chairperson of the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) and three children Rachael Wanyonyi, Jonathan Wanyonyi and Emmanuel Wanyonyi.

Chebukati worked at the IEBC between 2017 to 2022.

Last week, Chebukati was reported to be critically ill and under live support machine

The former IEBC boss is admitted to a hospital in Nairobi where he had been undergoing treatment for nearly a week.

Chebukati was born on February 22, 1961. Chebukati started his early education at St Peters Mumias School, Kakamega County; then proceeded to join Bokoli Secondary School in Bungoma for his O’ level and finally joined Lenana High School in Nairobi for his A-level.

Upon completion of his A-level studies, Chebukati was admitted at the University of Nairobi where he studied Bachelor of Law. Later on, he got admission to study Post Graduate Diploma at the Kenya School of Law. He also studied Master of Administration course.

On completion of his law studies, Wafula started practicing law and later established a sole proprietorship law firm which he run for 20 years. Thereafter in 2006, he founded a Nairobi-based partnership law firm known as ‘Cootow & Associates Advocates’, which he resigned from on January 17, 2017 before he took up the chairperson job at the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC).

He succeeded his predecessor Isaack Hassan, now the board chairperson of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) who was appointed by the late retired President Mwai Kibaki to take over the mantle of the IEBC.

At the IEBC, Chebukati completed his six years’ tenure, which was in itself fascinating given the fact that the first presidential election that he presided over declaring retired President Kenyatta as the winner was annulled in 20217 by the Supreme Court of Kenya mainly because of irregularities.

As the chairperson of IEBC and former president of the General Assembly of Association of the African Election Authorities, he was said to have displayed exceptional leadership by overseeing comprehensive electoral reforms and fostering an environment of cooperation and trust among various stakeholders due to his unwavering commitment to transparency and accountability he made changes

Although the development eroded public confidence on IEBC, Wafula who had been presented with the best opportunity to reform the electoral system of Kenya to deliver free and fair results did not fix the systematic challenges was only evasive when asked to confirm the changes by the civil society of Kenya. His hope always rested on independence of IEBC.

Wafula Chebukati was appointed to the position on a six-year tenure in January 2017 by the retired President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta. Following his appointment in 2017. He succeeded Ahmed Isaack Hassan.

The IEBC had genuine purposes to push for the legislative reforms to facilitate it restructure its directorate and departments, vet senior staff members, streamline its procurement procedures, institute Hansard-style recording of its meetings and acquire its own premises to reduce costs.

The commission has been under attack from politicians over procurement of electoral materials, particularly ballot papers and electronic voter identification devices, contracts for which the opposition said were handed to firms that have been accused of rigging elections elsewhere.