The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has instituted legal action against a staff who convened a meeting with the four dissenting commissioners by usurping the powers of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hussein Marjan.
In the latest purge, IEBC accused the staff of convening a plenary meeting graced by IEBC Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera, Irene Masit, Francis Wanderi and Justus Nyang'aya, which resolved to pick different legal teams that clashed at the Supreme Court.
"You impersonated the CEO and usurped his responsibilities as you purported to perform his duties without his authority or delegation. Moreover, Plenary Meeting No. 279 had already been held thus voiding the ‘other’ meeting of August 26 where you were secretary, rendering it illegal," the charge stated.
Marjan further accused the IEBC employee of threatening other staff at the tallying centre. The CEO further argued in the cause notice, that Moses Sunkuli, acting director of voter registration, filed a report stating that his life was in danger due to her actions.
"It is a gross misconduct to use threats and intimidation or behave in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace as stipulated under Commission Human Resource and Administration Policies and Procedures Manual," the letter added.
The action against the IEBC senior staff comes just days after Garissa Township MP Aden Duale threatened to take legal action against the four commissioners who disowned results announced IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati for sidelining them.
Duale argued that their actions would have plunged the country into a crisis. He further described them as proxies of unnamed masters who decided to disown the electoral process after realising they had failed.
"They went ahead and filed pleadings and tons of paragraphs in fabricated affidavits alleging and lying how ‘the results were unverified and never approved’ and hence they begged, prayed and forever prayed that the Supreme Court would nullify the elections," he wrote.
According to the outspoken legislator, the Cherera-led faction was on a mission to subvert the people's will by violating the constitution.
Farmers Party, an affiliate of the Kenya Kwanza Coalition, also petitioned the parliament to start the process of kicking out the four commissioners from office. Led by former Devolution PS Irungu Nyakera, they submitted the petition on Friday, September 9.
The same sentiments were shared by Tourism CS Najib Balala, who argued the four should face the law.
In their joint statement on Tuesday, September 6, the four commissioners welcomed the Supreme Court ruling expressing their willingness to support Chebukati.
"After the Supreme Court of Kenya made her [sic] ruling yesterday on the Presidential election petition particularly with regard to our role as commissioners, we wish to convey our appreciation to the Honourable Judges of the Supreme Court of Kenya and confirm that we respect their collective decisions,” their joint statement read.
This is after the seven-judge bench explained that the four did not provide evidence to prove that the poll results were tampered with.
Chief Justice Martha Koome added that the Supreme Court was cognisant that the four played a key role in verifying and tallying the votes.
