Kibwezi West Member of Parliament (MP) Mwengi Mutuse on Friday, July 5, exposed that seven firms contracted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to offer an advisory opinion had billed the institution Ksh4 billion.
The Kenya Kwanza MP who was elected under Maendeleo Chap Chap's ticket remarked that the billing was exorbitant and should be investigated.
Mwengi who sits at the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) in the National Assembly vowed to escalate the matter to the floor of the House.
“Seven law firms were instructed to make a simple application for an advisory opinion, resulting in nearly Ksh4 billion in pending legal fees,” the legislator stated.
“Where is the probity in this? Is the IEBC secretariat aware of the current sentiment in the country? Business as usual will not continue.”
The MP revealed that he would rally fellow JLAC members to reject any attempts at appropriating the expenditure.
According to Mwengi, the IEBC secretariat should pay the sum from their own pockets instead of the taxpayer.
IEBC had on Thursday requested an advisory opinion on whether it can undertake the process of delimitation of electoral boundaries and other electoral processes in the absence of commissioners or requisite quorum of commissioners.
Additionally, IEBC had sought the intervention of the Supreme Court on whether it could conduct a review of the names and boundaries of constituencies and wards after the timelines set out in law had elapsed.
Lastly, the advisory opinion sought to know whether the constitutional timelines for boundary review could be extended under special circumstances.
According to Constitutional timelines, IEBC ought to have conducted the boundaries review by March 6, 2024, but the process was hindered due to a lack of commissioners.
Mwengi now rationalises that the three issues being sought advisory opinion at the apex court should not have resulted in a Ksh4 billion bill.
The JLAC Committee is chaired by Tharaka MP George Murugara with Mwengi Mutuse serving as the vice chairperson.
Other members of the committee include; Otiende Amollo, Junet Mohammed, Tom Kajwang, Farah Maalim, Amina Udgoon, John Makali, Wakili Muriu, Maina Njeri, Michael Mwangi, Silvanus Osoro, Stephen Mogaka and Aden Mohamed.
