Judge to IEBC: Who checks the all-powerful Chebukati?
Lady Justice Njoki Ndung’u has asked the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) legal team to clarify the role of commissioners.
Speaking during the final session of Wednesday’s Presidential Election Petition hearing, where judges were seeking clarification on respondents' submissions, Lady Justice Ndung’u raised concerns about an implied autocratic command in the electoral body.
“The drafters of the constitution introduced independent commissions and independent offices to deal with issues of authoritarianism, accountability, transparency and to do away with the issue of one person having power,” she said.
According to Lady Justice Ndung’u, the petition hearing seemingly revealed an unsettling picture of IEBC’s leadership structure.
“from the narrative we are hearing here in court, there appears to be an all-powerful chair, so what is the check for this all-powerful chair if the commissioners have nothing to do with his role, what would happen if the chair was to announce the wrong results or is mentally incapacitated or falls sick or in worst case scenario is dead, who then will announce the result ?" Posed the judge.
She further poked holes into the authority of the body’s CEO, who according to the judge, is furnished with undue command.
“I feel a bit concerned because the CEO is not vetted by parliament, he is appointed, but he seems to wield immense powers over and above the other commissioners. I cannot imagine that that could have been the intentions of the drafters of the constitution,” said Lady Justice Ndung’u.
