President William Ruto on Wednesday announced that he had sacked Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioner Irene Masit with immediate effect.

This comes days after the tribunal led by Justice Aggrey Muchelule recommended her removal from office in their report presented to President Ruto at State House, Nairobi.

The tribunal formed by Ruto was tasked with probing and deciding the fate of embattled IEBC commissioners Masit, Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi, Masit and Justus Nyang’aya.

In a gazette notice published on Wednesday, Ruto indicated that he fired Masit based on the proposals made by the tribunal that were legally binding on him as the sitting president.

He noted that Masit had committed gross violations of the Constitution as captured in the report submitted by the Tribunal and that they meet the threshold to warrant her dismissal.

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The Head of State hence declared the IEBC commissioner post vacant following her removal from office.

“The appointment and tenure in office of Irene Cherop Masit as a member of the IEBC be and is terminated with immediate effect,” said Ruto in the Wednesday gazette notice.

William Ruto and Aggrey Muchelule. PHOTO/PCS

He went on, “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 7 (A) 1 C of the IEBC Act 2011, I William Samoei Ruto President and Commander in Chief of the Kenya Defense Forces declare a vacancy in the position of the sixth member of the IEBC.”

Masit was one of four IEBC commissioners who rejected the results of the August 9, 2022 presidential poll as declared by then chairman Wafula Chebukati, terming them opaque.

While, submitting the its report to Ruto on Monday, the tribunal said the gross misconduct claims against Masit as an IEBC commissioner were proven to the legally required standard.

Juliana Cherera, Irene Masit, Francis Wanderi and Justus Nyang'aya. PHOTO/COURTESY 

Based on the move, Masit is not be permitted to hold any public office in future even as she has the option of challenging the decision by the tribunal and President at the High Court.

The “Cherera Four” were sworn in on September 2, 2021 after Connie Nkatha, Margaret Mwachanya and Paul Kurgat resgned on April 16, 2018 following a fallout with Chebukati.

This comes as members of the IEBC Selection Panel, which has been tasked with recruiting new commissioners to replace Chebukati and commissioners Boya Molu, Abdi Guliye (whose six-year terms ended in early January) alongside Cherera, Nyang'aya, Wanderi and Masit, are expected to sworn into office sometime this week.