The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has taken legal action against a staff member for breaching CEO Hussein Marjan’s authority to call a meeting with the four dissident commissioners.
In the most recent purge, the IEBC accused the staff of calling a plenary meeting that determined to choose several legal teams that disagreed before the Supreme Court and was attended by IEBC Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera, Irene Masit, Francis Wanderi, and Justus Nyang’aya.
“You impersonated the CEO and usurped his responsibilities as you purported to perform his duties without his authority or delegation. Moreover, Plenary Meeting No. 279 had already been held thus voiding the ‘other’ meeting of August 26 where you were secretary, rendering it illegal,” the charge stated.
Marjan further claimed that the IEBC employee had threatened other employees at the tallying center. The acting director of voter registration, Moses Sunkuli, submitted a complaint claiming that his life was in danger as a result of her activities, the CEO further asserted in the cause notice.
“It is a gross misconduct to use threats and intimidation or behave in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace as stipulated under Commission Human Resource and Administration Policies and Procedures Manual,” the letter added.
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The move against the IEBC senior personnel was taken only a few days after Garissa Township MP Aden Duale threatened to sue the four commissioners who repudiated the results that IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati had declared for excluding them.
According to Duale, their acts would have caused a crisis in the nation. He went on to say that they acted as agents for unknown masters who, realizing they had failed, made the decision to abandon the political process.
“They went ahead and filed pleadings and tons of paragraphs in fabricated affidavits alleging and lying how ‘the results were unverified and never approved’ and hence they begged, prayed and forever prayed that the Supreme Court would nullify the elections,” he wrote.
The outspoken lawmaker said that the Cherera-led group was trying to undermine the will of the people by breaking the law.
A petition to remove the four commissioners from office was also submitted to the parliament by the Farmers Party, a member of the Kenya Kwanza Coalition.
They delivered the petition on Friday, September 9, under the direction of former Devolution PS Irungu Nyakera.
Najib Balala, the tourism secretary, had the similar views, saying the four should answer to the law.
The Supreme Court’s decision was hailed by the four commissioners, who pledged to support Chebukati in a united statement released on Tuesday, September 6.
“After the Supreme Court of Kenya made her [sic] ruling yesterday on the Presidential election petition particularly with regard to our role as commissioners, we wish to convey our appreciation to the Honourable Judges of the Supreme Court of Kenya and confirm that we respect their collective decisions,” their joint statement read.
Following the seven-judge bench’s explanation that the four had not offered proof that the poll results had been tampered with, this has happened.
The Supreme Court was aware, said Chief Justice Martha Koome, that the four were crucial in validating and counting the ballots.
