Nairobi, July 11- Erastus Ethekon is being sworn in today, Friday, July 11, as the new Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), alongside six commissioners. The ceremony is taking place at the Supreme Court, presided over by the Chief Justice.
This follows President William Ruto’s decision to re-gazette their appointments in a special issue of the Kenya Gazette dated July 10, in compliance with a High Court ruling that nullifies the initial gazettement but allows the appointments to proceed legally.
On Thursday, a three-judge bench, Justices Roselyne Aburili, John Chigiti, and Bahati Mwamuye, rules that the original notice violated an active court order and is therefore procedurally flawed. However, the judges uphold the validity of the appointments themselves, noting that the issue lies in the process, not in the merit or qualifications of the individuals appointed.
President Ruto responds to the ruling by issuing a new gazette notice, effectively regularizing the appointments in accordance with the court’s directive.
According to Section 7(1) of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act, members serve a single, non-renewable term of six years. Ethekon now begins his term as IEBC Chairperson, joined by commissioners Ann Njeri Nderitu, Moses Alutalala Mukhwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan, Francis Odhiambo Aduol, and Fahima Araphat Abdallah.
