Kalonzo to Ruto: Form IEBC by March 2025 or I will lead nationwide protests
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
What you need to know:
- Former IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati and commissioners Boya Molu and Prof Abdi Guliye left the commission in January 2023, having stayed on after the resignations of Ms Juliana Cherera, Mr Francis Wanderi and Mr Justus Nyang'aya, and the dismissal of Ms Irene Masit by a tribunal investigating the conduct of the latter four after the 2022 general election.
- This means that the IEBC has been without a full commission for nearly two years, and has missed a constitutional deadline of March 2024 to delimit constituency boundaries.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka on Saturday threatened to lead nationwide protests should President William Ruto not meet a March 2025 deadline to constitute the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The IEBC has remained without commissioners for nearly two years.
“We demand the immediate establishment of the panel that will select IEBC commissioners. If it gets to March and there is no IEBC in place, I shall lead a nationwide demonstration. That demonstration will not leave anyone standing,” Mr Musyoka said as the audience went wild with ‘Ruto Must Go’ chants.
Similar scenes played out last weekend when the Wiper leader joined his political allies and football fans to watch the finals of the Governor Wavinya Cup at the Kenyatta stadium in Machakos Town.
“This has become a national anthem,” he said on Saturday, referring to the chants as he pleaded with the audience to tone down “so that they do not say I have come to incite you”.
Mr Musyoka spoke in Machakos during a thanksgiving ceremony for Catherine Kyee, a Wiper nominated MCA. The Wiper leader was the chief guest at the function.
Former IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati and commissioners Boya Molu and Prof Abdi Guliye left the commission in January 2023, having stayed on after the resignations of Ms Juliana Cherera, Mr Francis Wanderi and Mr Justus Nyang'aya, and the dismissal of Ms Irene Masit by a tribunal investigating the conduct of the latter four after the 2022 general election.
This means that the IEBC has been without a full commission for nearly two years, and has missed a constitutional deadline of March 2024 to delimit constituency boundaries.
At the same time, Banisa, Magarini and Ugunja constituencies cannot hold by-elections to replace their MPs due to the absence of the commissioners.
Meanwhile, Mr Musyoka accused President Ruto of bad governance and presiding over corruption.
He also praised Justice Chacha Mwita for declaring the new university funding model unconstitutional.
The former vice president also poked holes on the new universal health coverage scheme, which the government rolled out in October.
At the same time, Mr Musyoka questioned the recent Cabinet reshuffle, saying it was not meant to improve service delivery but was a desperate self-preservation ploy by President Ruto. The reshuffle saw the appointment of some allies of former president Uhuru Kenyatta.
“It is very costly to be a leader. The easiest thing for me to do if I wanted to be comfortable is to say ‘my brother William Ruto I have come. Help me to get three or four Kambas in government’. What would I have done? Sold the conscience and soul of the country,” Mr Musyoka said.
President Ruto’s latest nominations have put Mr Musyoka in an awkward position after it emerged that members of the Kamba community had missed out of the nomination list.
Some quarters have blamed his hardline stance against the Kenya Kwanza administration for the sidelining of the community in key government positions.
But Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi said the sidelining of the Kamba should motivate the community to support Mr Musyoka’s 2027 presidential dream.
Two months after former Machakos Town MP Victor Munyaka raised eyebrows by rejecting a plum job offer from President Ruto, he set tongues wagging in the region by denouncing the Head of State for casting his lot with Mr Musyoka.
The former ally of President Ruto accuses the Head of State of sidelining the Kamba community in plum government jobs.
