Petition against Ruto's IEBC nominees to be heard tomorrow

A lawsuit seeking to stop the vetting and approval of President William Ruto’s nominees for the positions of chairperson and commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will now be heard tomorrow.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi yesterday adjourned the case after it emerged that one of the nominated commissioners, Fahima Araphat Abdallah, had not been served with a notice to appear in court.

However, the judge ordered the petitioners, Kelvin Roy Omondi and Boniface Mwangi, to serve all seven nominees afresh via advertisement in a nationwide newspaper before Monday.

Justice Mugambi also directed the petitioners, through their lawyer Paul Muite, to appear for the hearing of their application on May 19 at 10:30 am in open court.

The application seeks to suspend any consideration, vetting, or approval of the nominees by the National Assembly.

The two petitioners are also seeking orders blocking gazettement, or swearing-in of Erastus Edung Ethekon (Chairperson nominee), and Anne Njeri Nderitu, Moses Alutalala Mukhwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan, Francis Odhiambo Aduol, and Fahima Arafat Abdallah (commissioner nominees).

The petitioners argue that the selection process was flawed, opaque, and unconstitutional.

“Nomination process was marred by irregularities, lacked transparency, and violated key constitutional provisions,” Muite says.

The petitioners contend that some nominees were irregularly added to the shortlist and did not meet eligibility criteria.

They specifically point to Nderitu, claiming she is still a serving State officer, while Sorobit, said to have held a leadership role in a political party within the last five years and Hassan Noor Hassan, who allegedly contested for a political sea.