Wafula Chebukati.
Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati is dead.
Chebukati passed away on Thursday night while undergoing treatment at a Nairobi hospital following a long illness.
The former IEBC boss had been admitted to the hospital for nearly a week and was placed in the Intensive Care Unit.
He has left behind his wife Mary Chebukati, and their three children Jonathan, Rachel, and Emmanuel Chebukati.
Before his demise, Chebukati served as the IEBC chairperson for a full term of six years until January 2023, when he retired.
He succeeded Ahmed Isaack Hassan who was removed from office in January 2017. During his tenure, at IEBC, Chebukati presided over the 2017 and 2022 elections.
He was born on December 22, 1961, in Kiminini, Trans Nzoia County, and attended St. Peter’s Mumias Boys High School, followed by Bokoli Secondary School, and later completed his secondary education at Lenana High School in Nairobi.
Chebukati pursued higher education at the University of Nairobi, where he earned a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree in 1985 before joining the Kenya School of Law and was admitted to the bar in 1986.
He went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
Chebukati came into the limelight in 2007 when he vied for the Saboti Member of Parliament seat on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party ticket.
He however lost the election to DAP-K party leader Eugene Wamalwa who then was running on a Party of National Unity (PNU) ticket.
Following the loss Chebukati resigned as a member of ODM and declared no future interest in elective positions.
On 12 December 2022, during the Jamuhuri Day celebrations, President William Ruto conferred the Order of the Golden Heart (EGH) on Chebukati.
