Nairobi — Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala is now pushing for the prosecution of the four Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) who disowned the August 9 presidential results.
Balala pointed out that the move by the four commissioners who include Juliana Cherera (Vice Chair), Justus Nyaganya, Francis Wandera and Irene Masit was nothing short of impunity that risked plunging the nation into chaos.
"Impunity must be dealt with or otherwise it will return to haunt us... .. the people who almost caused bloodshed on the night of the IEBC result announcement... the likes of team Cherera must be brought to book," Balala wrote on twitter while reacting to a tweet that Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen.
The Elgeyo Marakwet Senator had tweeted asking President-elect William Ruto not to allow his principal secretary to insult leaders as he pointed it was the conduct of leaders in the Jubilee administration.
In the reply, Balala mentioned that the four dissenting IEBC commissioners being brought to was nothing out of vengeance arguing that their acts of impunity being ignored might haunt the nation in the future.
"It is not vengeance but order in the public interest," he tweeted
The Supreme Court has ruled that last minute wrangles in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) cannot be a basis for nullifying the presidential election.
The judgment was read by Chief Justice Martha Koome on the issue of whether the electoral body carried out the verification, tallying, and declaration of results in accordance with Article 138 (3) (c) and 138 (10) of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court bench ruled that even though the provision of the constitution doesn't envisage that the Chairperson should act alone in the verification, tallying, and declaration of results, the four dissenting commissioner were not locked out of the process.
"We however take cognizant that the four dissenting commissioners actively took part in verification, tallying and declaration of the results from the beginning and until just before the declaration of the results," Koome stated.
"They took turns announcing the results that were verified and tallied and were present and active during the actual verification exercise at Bomas," she said.
The 7-judge bench upheld the tallying process saying IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati worked in line with Article 138(4) and 138 (10) of the constitution as he involved the rest of poll commissioners until the last minute before violence erupted in Bomas.
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"Are we to nullify an election on the basis of last minute boardroom rapture? The details that remains of which scanty and contradictory between the chairperson and part of its commissioners," Koome stated as she read the summarized ruling.
The Supreme Court threw out Odinga's prayers that the election be nullified on the basis that the commission was unable to conduct free and fair election due to dysfunctionality.
"Clearly the current dysfunctionality at the commission doesn't affect the conduct of the 2022 elections. We are satisfied that notwithstanding the division of the commission,IEBC conducted the verification and tallying in accordance with the constitution,"Koome stated.
The IEBC commissioners held a press conference where they said they were not a party to what Chebukati was about to declare saying the results were handled in an opaque manner.
