Kenya electoral commissioners to file individual responses to presidential petition

By Our Correspondent, NAIROBI Kenya

The four electoral commissioners, who have disowned the presidential election results, will each file their responses in the petition challenging the outcome of the vote.

From left; IEBC commissioners Justus Nyang'aya, Francis Wanderi Vice chairperson Juliana Cherera, and Irene Masit address the media on August 16, 2022, at the Serena Hotel.

Besides the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and its chairman, Wafula Chebukati, each of the other six commissioners has been listed as a respondent, a first in a presidential election petition.

Vice-Chairperson Juliana Cherera and commissioners Justus Nyang’aya, Francis Wanderi and Irene Masit disowned Chebukati’s declaration of William Ruto as President-elect, alleging there was no clear winner.

It has emerged the four commissioners have each instructed a lawyer to file their responses, widely expected to mirror their public statements that the vote tallying and verification process had been bungled.

One of the four commissioners yesterday told our corresponent that each of them will have a separate lawyer to represent them at the Supreme Court but they will demand that the IEBC foots the bill since they have been mentioned in the case as IEBC commissioners and not as individuals.

“We have already identified our lawyers and given them directives. We need our own lawyers because the prayers Raila Odinga has given to the court in relation to the case are different from what we have been listed to answer,” said the commissioner on condition of anonymity.

The commissioner said that even if called upon to testify as individuals, they are ready to say the truth about what happened at the Bomas of Kenya prior to the declaration of the results on August 15.

“We will always stand with the truth and that’s why we need to have our own lawyers,” the commissioner said.

The official said that the lawyers hired by the IEBC will be defending the position of the commission that there was no rigging as alleged by the Azimio coalition.

However, their lawyers will argue their position that commission chairman Wafula Chebukati side-lined them in the verification of presidential results from 27 constituencies.