NAIROBI, Kenya – The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has fined Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria KSh2.5 million after finding him guilty of breaching the Electoral Code of Conduct during campaigns for the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, the IEBC Electoral Code of Conduct Enforcement Committee, chaired by Commissioner Alutalala Mukhwana, found Gikaria culpable on charges relating to voter inducement and misinformation, and directed him to pay the fine within 48 hours.
The committee also issued the legislator with a severe formal warning, ordering him to immediately stop making statements that could be interpreted as promising financial rewards or inducements to voters.
“The Honourable David Gikaria is hereby issued a severe formal warning to cease and desist from making statements that imply financial inducement or reward to the electorate,” Mukhwana said while delivering the decision.
The case arose from remarks Gikaria made while campaigning for United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Samuel Muchina Nyaga ahead of the July 16 Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election. The committee found that the statements violated provisions of the Electoral Code of Conduct designed to safeguard free and fair elections.
In addition to the monetary penalty, the commission ordered Gikaria to issue a public apology and retract the offending remarks, warning that failure to comply within the stipulated timeline could attract further sanctions under electoral laws.
The committee also took issue with remarks allegedly suggesting that voters would not be required to present national identity cards before casting their ballots, saying such statements had the potential to mislead the electorate about voting procedures.
The ruling comes as the IEBC intensifies enforcement of the Electoral Code of Conduct ahead of Thursday’s Ol Kalou by-election, which has attracted heightened political attention and increased security deployment following reports of campaign-related incidents.
