The High Court has cleared the path for the swearing-in of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson and six commissioners, dismissing a petition that challenged their nominations.
However, the court faulted President William Ruto’s initial gazettement of the appointments, deeming it unlawful and ordering a fresh notice to regularize the process.
A three-judge bench, comprising Justices Roselyne Aburili, John Chigiti, and Bahati Mwamuye, on Thursday, July 10, 2025, threw out the petition filed by Kelvin Roy Omondi and activist Boniface Mwangi.
The petitioners had sought to block the nominees from assuming office, citing alleged irregularities in the selection process, including claims of lack of regional balance, ethnic diversity, and eligibility concerns for some nominees.
The court ruled that the petition failed to meet the threshold required under Articles 22 and 23 of the Constitution, finding no credible proof to support the allegations.
Despite upholding the substantive validity of the appointments, the court found that President Ruto had breached a subsisting conservatory order issued on May 29, 2025, by Justice Lawrence Mugambi, which had barred gazettement or assumption of office pending the case’s determination.
Consequently, the initial gazette notice was declared null and void.
The ruling mandates the President to issue a fresh gazette notice, after which the chairperson, Erastus Edung Ethekon, and commissioners Ann Njeri Nderitu, Moses Alutalala Mukhwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan, Francis Odhiambo Aduol, and Fahima Araphat Abdallah can be sworn in by the Chief Justice today.
