President Uhuru Appoints Four New IEBC Commissioners

President Kenyatta has appointed four new Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners.

The four, Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi, Irene Masit, and Justus Nyang’aya, were appointed through a gazette notice dated September 1st, 2021.

Their appointment comes a day after the National Assembly approved a report by the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, which cleared the four nominees following a vetting process.

They were sworn in by Chief Justice Martha Koome at Supreme Court buildings in Nairobi on Thursday.

The four appointees were among 30 candidates that were interviewed by the IEBC selection panel in July to fill the vacant positions.

The posts fell vacant following the resignation of IEBC Vice-Chairperson Consolata Nkatha and Commissioners Margaret Mwachanya, Paul Kurgat, and Roselyn Akombe.

Nkatha, Mwachanya, and Kurgat announced their resignation in April 2018, citing a lack of confidence in IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati.

Commissioner Akombe fled the country to the US from where she announced her resignation on October 18th, 2017, saying she feared for her life after receiving multiple threats. This came a week before the October 26th, 2017 repeat presidential election.