On Wednesday, January 11, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati and two of his colleagues, Boya Mulu and Abdi Guliye, were given to a farewell party.
The three commissioners who are set to leave the commission on January 17, 2023, following six years of service, stated that they are leaving with their heads held high.
Chebukati, Molu, and Guliye all expressed gratitude to the commission’s employees and the IEBC for their service.
“Long journey of six years at IEBC is about to end. Looking forward to a happy exit in the next few days. Thanks to our staff for this wonderful farewell,” Commissioner Molu noted.
Chebukati will be leaving office after six tumultuous years of both massive successes and failures.
“We have faced a lot of challenges as a commission, but we have always remained committed to upholding the integrity of the electoral process and ensuring that every vote counts,” Commissioner Guliye noted.
In his part, Guliye took time to dispel accusations that the commission was involved in electoral rigging during the August 2022 General Election.
“It demoralises the commission when people talk of stolen elections. Those times have ended,” Guliye explained.
The farewell event was punctuated with a cake-cutting ceremony which culminated in the sharing of drinks and eateries.
Chebukati, Molu and Guliye were appointed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in January 2017 alongside four others who resigned after the 2017 General Elections.
The three were in 2021 joined by commissioners Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi, Irene Masit and Justus Nyang’aya.
As Chebukati, Molu and Guliye’s term came to an end, President William Ruto in October 2022 declared vacancies at IEBC, hence, triggering another round of recruitment process.
“The tenure of the chairperson and two members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is set to lapse on January 17, 2023, having been appointed on January 18, 2017, vide Gazette Notices 399 and 400 of 2017,” read Ruto’s notice.
By January 17, 2023, IEBC will only be having one commission, Irene Masit, who declined to resign like her colleagues, Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi, and Justus Nyang’aya.
