Cherera Issues New Demands Amid Ouster Hearings

Embattled Independence Electoral and Boundaries Commission Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera on Monday, November 28, issued a set of new demands to the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC).

This was after she failed to appear before the committee to respond to a petition seeking her removal from office, instead opting to send lawyer Apollo Mboya to represent her. 

While Mboya expressed no issue with the jurisdiction of the committee after Azimio la Umoja-allied MPs boycotted the sitting, he had new demands from his client for the committee. 

IEBC commissioners Wafula Chebukati and Juliana Cherera

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The IEBC Vice-Chair called on JLAC to adjourn the proceedings of the committee with respect to her case in order to allow her more time to prepare her responses to the petitions.  

First, Mboya noted that his client had not been furnished with a copy of the Hansard and the ruling made by JLAC chairman George Gitonga on the committee’s jurisdiction. 

Furthermore, the Vice Chairperson took issue with the time they had been given to respond to the petition. 

“This is a quasi-judicial process and the law requires that in any petition hearing, the respondent is given 14 days to respond,” Mboya noted. 

According to the lawyer, his client had not been given sufficient time to respond since they were required to respond just three days after the petitioner finished presenting their petition on November 25. 

“Article 50 of the constitution provides for a fair hearing and therefore we must be given adequate time and facilities to prepare our response,” Mboya told members of the committee.

Cherera also took issue with President William Ruto’s remarks on November 25, calling the embattled IEBC commissioners “rogue officials.” 

Through her lawyer, the IEBC Vice-Chair called on the president to facilitate them with what informed his statement. 

Consequently, Cherera asked the committee to adjourn for 14 days before they can present their responses to the petitions. 

Four petitions were filed seeking the removal of Cherera, Irene Masit Justus Nyang’aya and Francis Wanderi from office.

Azimio leader Raila Odinga is set to hold countrywide rallies to protest the ongoing ouster process for the ‘Cherera 4.’

From left: IEBC Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera, Commissioner Abdi Guliye and Chairman Wafula Chebukati at the Bomas of Kenya on Monday, August 8, 2022.

Kenyans.co.ke