A three-judge bench of the High Court in Nairobi has nullified the appointments of the Chairperson and Commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), citing a violation of court orders, but has left the door open for the appointments to be regularised.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justices Roselyne Aburili, John Chigiti, and Bahati Mwamuye ruled that Gazette Notices No. 7724 and 7725—dated June 10, 2025—were published in contempt of interim conservatory orders issued on May 29. These orders had expressly barred the gazettement of the IEBC appointments pending a hearing of a constitutional petition.
“The Gazette Notice No. 7724 appointing the 1st Interested Party as IEBC Chairperson and Gazette Notice No. 7725 appointing the 2nd to 7th Interested Parties as Commissioners are hereby quashed for having been published in contravention of the Court’s interim conservatory orders,” the judges ruled.
However, the court dismissed the main petition filed by activists Kelvin Roy Omondi and Boniface Mwangi. The petition had sought to invalidate the appointments on grounds of bias, lack of diversity, and failure to appoint a person with a disability.
“The Petition dated 13th May 2025 is hereby found to be without merit and is dismissed,” read the judgment.
The bench clarified that its decision did not challenge the legality or suitability of the appointees themselves, but only the procedure through which the appointments were formalised. The court emphasized that the appointing authorities are free to reappoint the officials by following the correct constitutional steps, now that the interim orders have lapsed.
This ruling effectively grants President William Ruto and the appointing bodies a legal pathway to rectify the process without restarting the selection from scratch.
The petitioners had argued that the appointments lacked transparency, reflected ethnic imbalance, and contravened recommendations made by the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO). The court found these claims unsubstantiated and stated that NADCO recommendations were not legally binding.
In a move underscoring the matter’s public interest, the court ordered that each party bear its own costs.
The ruling marks a critical moment in the ongoing efforts to reconstitute the IEBC ahead of the 2027 General Election, and it is likely to influence how the Executive proceeds in future appointments under judicial scrutiny.
