NAIROBI, Kenya – After weeks of legal gridlock, the race to rebuild Kenya’s electoral body is officially back on track. The National Assembly will kick off the vetting of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) nominees this Saturday—yes, a weekend session—following a High Court decision that partially lifted an injunction stalling the process.
It’s a high-stakes hearing, with political tension already simmering.
President William Ruto nominated Erastus Ethekon as the new IEBC chair, alongside Anne Nderitu, Moses Mukwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor, Francis Odhiambo, and Fahima Abdalla as commissioners. But their path to office has been anything but smooth.
A court petition filed by activists Boniface Mwangi and Kelvin Roy Omondi had paused the process, raising red flags over fairness and constitutional balance in the appointments.
However, Justice Lawrence Mugambi on Thursday ruled that while Parliament may proceed with the vetting, final appointments must wait for the court’s resolution on those constitutional questions.
Still, MPs aren’t backing down. In a fiery Thursday debate, Speaker Moses Wetang’ula accused the Judiciary of overreach, declaring that Parliament “shall not condone any institutional interference.” Minority Leader Junet Mohamed added his voice, insisting the courts should respect parliamentary processes before wading in with litigation.
And now, Parliament is moving with urgency.
The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee will begin interviews promptly at 9:30 am on Saturday, with Ethekon first in the hot seat. Nderitu, the current Registrar of Political Parties, will follow at 10:30 am. The marathon vetting continues with Mukwana at 11:30 am, Sorobit at 12:30 pm, Noor at 2:30 pm, Odhiambo at 3:30 pm, and Fahima wrapping up at 4:30 pm.
Ahead of the hearings, the public was invited to submit sworn affidavits either supporting or contesting the nominees’ suitability for office—a move meant to foster transparency in a process still shadowed by public skepticism.
And that skepticism is growing.
The delayed reconstitution of the IEBC has raised red flags across Kenya’s political and civil society spectrum. Elections Observation Group (ELOG) national coordinator Mulle Musau recently voiced concern that the vacuum is damaging confidence in electoral preparedness, especially ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“It is a big concern to us,” Musau said. “We are very worried as it hurts the electoral processes to be conducted by the commission.”
The stakes are real. With six constituencies—including Banisa, Kasipul, Magarini, Ugunja, Malava, and Mbeere North—currently lacking representation, and several wards and one county waiting for by-elections, the absence of a functional IEBC is more than a political inconvenience—it’s a democratic emergency.
This weekend’s vetting may not finalize appointments, but it sets the stage for the next critical phase: the court’s decision on the legality of the nominations. Until then, Kenya remains in limbo, balancing between constitutional checks and the urgent need to restore the body that protects its democracy.
