The National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee will vet President William Ruto’s nominees to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in a high-stakes session scheduled for Saturday, May 31, 2025. The marathon hearings, to be held in a single day, will take place at the Mini Chamber, County Hall, Parliament Buildings in Nairobi, starting at 9:00 a.m.
This follows a High Court ruling on Thursday, May 29, which allowed Parliament to proceed with the vetting but barred the nominees from being gazetted or sworn into office pending the conclusion of an ongoing court case. The initial vetting process, originally slated for May 26, had been temporarily halted after petitioners filed a legal challenge.
President Ruto submitted the names of seven nominees on May 9 for approval Erastus Edung Ethekon for the position of chairperson, and Anne Nderitu, Moses Mukwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor, Francis Odhiambo, and Fahima Abdalla for commissioner roles.
According to a public notice issued on May 30 by National Assembly Clerk Samwel Njoroge, the hearings will be conducted under the guidance of Article 118(1)(b) of the Constitution and the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act. The public had earlier been invited to submit memoranda regarding the nominees’ suitability.
The vetting schedule begins with Ethekon, the chairperson nominee, appearing before the George Murugara-led panel at 9:00 a.m., followed by Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu at 10:30 a.m. The other nominees Mukwana, Sorobit, Noor, Odhiambo, and Abdalla will appear at hourly intervals, concluding at 4:30 p.m.
Each nominee is required to present clearance certificates from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, and the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB).
The outcome of Saturday’s hearings will significantly influence the future of the IEBC, a key institution tasked with overseeing Kenya’s electoral processes. However, final appointments remain subject to judicial review.
