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Court suspends IEBC's Sh1.5m fine against MP Wanjiku Muhia
Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia.
The High Court has suspended the electoral commission's decision fining Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia Sh1.5 million over alleged inflammatory remarks, marking the first judicial intervention against the electoral agency's campaign code enforcement process ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Justice Nabil Orina certified Ms Muhia's judicial review application as urgent on Monday and stayed the commission’s Electoral Code of Conduct Enforcement Committee's July 10 determination. The freeze order will remain in force pending hearing of the MP’s case against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the committee.
The legal dispute arose after the committee chaired by Commissioner Alutalala Mukhwana found Ms Muhia breached Section 110 of the Elections Act and the Electoral Code of Conduct over remarks she made during a public rally in Ol Kalou, Nyandarua County, on June 14.
The committee ordered the legislator to issue a public apology and retraction, appear personally at IEBC headquarters to deliver it and pay the Sh1.5 million fine within 72 hours.
Ms Muhia, however, argues the disciplinary process breached statutory and constitutional safeguards governing fair administrative action and fair hearing.
In her supporting affidavit, she says she was served with a charge sheet on June 22 alleging she uttered words that "seem to denote a call to violence to persons not originally hailing from Ol Kalou".
She acknowledges receiving summons to appear before the committee but says conflicting notices created uncertainty over whether she had been called for an examination or a hearing.
"I had a right to seek an adjournment of the intended examination/hearing in light of the manifestly inadequate notice and the second respondent's imprecise communication," she says in the affidavit.
Ms Muhia says her lawyers attended IEBC offices on June 26 seeking more time, citing inadequate notice, uncertainty surrounding the proceedings and objections to the committee's composition.
She argues the committee nevertheless proceeded without her and later issued its determination after finding she had violated the Electoral Code of Conduct.
According to the court filings, Ms Muhia contends the committee acted without legal authority by hearing the matter with only three commissioners instead of five.
She further claims she was denied adequate notice, an opportunity to prepare her defence and the chance to challenge evidence presented against her.
The affidavit also says IEBC demanded payment of the fine by July 13 despite allegedly providing the written judgment more than a day after it had been delivered.
"The applicant was only granted only eight working hours to raise a substantial amount of money which is both unreasonable and irrational," the affidavit states.
Contested judgement
Ms Muhia also says the respondents had not filed the committee's order in court before requiring payment and failed to supply proceedings despite repeated written requests from her lawyers.
In the contested judgment, the IEBC committee concluded that the disputed remarks amounted to "a call by an elected leader urging the residents to mobilize themselves... and inflict violence against fellow citizens".
The committee also held that Ms Muhia had been afforded sufficient opportunity to participate but voluntarily declined to do so after raising a preliminary objection challenging its jurisdiction.
"It is against this backdrop that this Committee finds that hearing the matter in the absence of the respondent does not infringe on her Constitutional rights," the judgment says.
Justice Orina directed IEBC and the committee to file responses within five days before further directions on July 20, while the stay remains in force.
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