Published on July 11, 2025 by Agencies for Kenya Online News
Last Updated on 1 year by Agencies for Kenya Online News
The new Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners were sworn into office on Friday, July 11, 2025.
Erastus Edung Ethekon is now the new IEBC Chairman, while Ann Nderitu, Moses Mukhwana, Mary Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan, Francis Aduol, and Fahima Abdallah are the new commissioners.
The ceremony was presided over by Chief Justice Martha Koome at the Supreme Court building.
This comes a day after the High Court dismissed a petition filed by Kelvin Roy Omondi and Boniface Mwangi barring the seven nominees from gazettement, and taking the oath of office.
The three-judge bench led by Justices Roselyne Aburili, John Chigiti, and Bahati Mwamuye upheld the nomination of the seven nominees but quashed the nominee’s gazettement by President William Ruto.
While quashing the gazzettement the bench stated that appointees’ names were published in violation of a valid and subsisting conservatory order issued by Justice Lawrence Mugambi.
“The prayer by the petitioners to declare the seven IEBC nominees illegal, null and void is declined,” the bench stated.
The bench stated that there was no evidence produced by the petitioners to prove the said nominees come from the same community or region, thus no basis for the allegations.
Further, the court dismissed the allegation by the petitioners that the IEBC Chairman Erastus Edung’s nomination violated the Constitution.
The bench also dismissed an attempt by the petitioners to block Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu from being in the IEBC commission.
“The prayer for declaration of Ann Nderitu for the appointment to the IEBC that she was at the time of nomination in the office of the registrar of political parties is hereby declined,” the bench ruled.
Notably, after the ruling, President William Ruto re-gazzetted the nominees immediately.
On May 29, 2025, Judge Lawrence Mugambi allowed the National Assembly to proceed with the vetting process of the proposed IEBC commissioners.
In his ruling, Justice Mugambi stated that, according to the petition, the issue lay not in the vetting and approval process in the National Assembly but in the selection and nomination process.
“I will allow the vetting and approval process in Parliament to proceed, but the court has a duty to determine the constitutionality of the issues raised in the petition on the selection and nomination process,” Justice Mugambi ruled.
However, Justice Mugambi issued conservatory orders preventing the gazettement, swearing-in, or assumption of office by the seven nominees once the vetting and approval process by Parliament is complete, or by any other person or persons as Chairperson or Commissioners of IEBC.
