A voter named Milton Nyakundi has filed a petition at the Milimani High Court to declare the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati and the commission’s CEO Marjan Hussein unfit to hold office following the alleged violation of the Constitution.

Nyakundi who apparently is a journalist by profession also wants the High Court to declare commissioners Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye unfit to hold office too over alleged gross misconduct during the recently concluded general election and during the procurement process of the voting materials.

Nyakundi’s petition comes against the backdrop of the fallout between Chebukati and his vice chairperson Juliana Cherera and the other three commissioners.

He argued that even though the removal of a member of the commission should be initiated through the parliament; the court has the power to direct the removal of the commissioner.

Nyakundi added that the commissioners he wants to be removed from office violated Chapters 6 and Articles 81 and 86 of the Kenyan Constitution and other laws relating to the conduct of State/Public Officers.

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“I believe that the conduct of Mr Chebukati, Mr Molu, Prof Guliye and Mr Marjan has violated the Constitution, specifically Chapter Six and Articles 81 and 86 as well as other national laws. It cannot be said that the Respondents’ conduct has been in accordance to what is expected of them,” Nyakundi said.

The journalist claims the commission’s chair acted unilaterally during the tallying and verification process of the presidential election by excluding the other dissenting commissioners, leading to the split in the commission and the four disowning the presidential election results.

Nyankundi is relying on the four dissenting commissioners’ affidavits filed at the supreme court claiming Chebukati sidelined them during the last phase of the tallying and verification of the presidential election process.

Since the Supreme Court ruled that the exclusion of the four commissioners namely Juliana Cherera, Irene Masit, Justus Nyang’aya and Francis Wanderi was unconstitutional, Nyakundi wants the court to bar Chebukati, Molu, Guliye and Marjan from accessing their offices pending judgement of the case.

Nyakundi opined there will not be a vacuum in the office if the court grants his prayer because Chebukati’s vice chairperson will take over and act in that capacity until a chairperson is appointed.

“If a vacancy occurs in the office of the IEBC, Section 7A (4) of the IEBC Act provides that “the Vice Chairperson shall act as the chairperson and exercise the powers and responsibilities of the chairperson until such a time as the chairperson is appointed,” Nyakundi said.

“There exists sound and effective administrative structures to ensure the functions of Mr Marjan are performed for the duration he is not allowed to access his office.”

The petitioner also wants the disclosure of information on the procurement of the elections tech used in the recent election and the result transmission system, servers and the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits.