President William Ruto’s allies, led by his personal assistant Farouk Kibet, have hit back at Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka over his opposition to the president’s nominees to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Speaking during a fundraising drive in Nandi County, Kibet and the lawmakers from the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) urged the National Assembly to approve the nominees without focusing on the noise made by the opposition leaders. 

According to Kibet, most electoral constituencies in the republic have suffered without representatives, and therefore it would be only befitting to have the IEBC in place to enable them to have representatives. 

''Those individuals whose main intention is to be embroiled with the government in unending wars every time, we want to tell you that we want the IEBC to be in place as early as yesterday. We want to ask the parliamentarians to approve them quickly," Kibet stated. 

Kimani Ichung’wah during a public address on Wednesday, April 2 2025.

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Kimani Ichungwah

''There are constituencies without representatives. There are people from the opposition who have come out to protest everything. When they are asleep, their biggest manifesto is 'Ruto Must Go'.'' 

National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah also lashed out at Kalonzo's camp, terming their reservations on the nominees list as 'tribal agenda setters'. 

''After the stalemate was resolved and the names sent to the President, I am now seeing those without belief in anything have already begun ethnic profiling, saying that the chairperson is from a certain tribe,'' Ichung'wah stated. 

Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa also criticised Kalonzo’s camp, grouping them alongside former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, and maintained that President Ruto’s administration was not afraid of facing them in the 2027 elections.

''Personally, I am not worried. Come 2027, our biggest competitor as a government will be the deliberate programmes we have implemented to improve the lives of Kenyans," he added.

On Thursday, Kalonzo tore into the nominees' list, maintaining that Ruto ignored the constitutional requirement for consultation and concurrence in appointing the IEBC chair and commissioners

Further, he alleged that the intention behind the appointments was to rig not only the 2027 General Election but also the imminent by-elections. 

''Mr Ruto has chosen partisanship over principle by ignoring the constitutional requirement for consultation and concurrence in appointing the IEBC chair and commissioners. This move has turned the commission into a low-trust institution," Kalonzo stated. 

''It is now evident that the intention behind these unilateral appointments is to rig not only the 2027 General Election but also the imminent by-elections. We will issue a comprehensive statement on Monday, May 12," he added.

Last week, President William Ruto nominated Erastus Edung Ethekon from Turkana County as the chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Additionally, the President has nominated six other individuals to serve as members of the commission and submitted their names to Parliament for vetting.

The six members are Ann Njeri Nderitu (Registrar of Political Parties), Moses Alutalala Mukhwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan, Francis Odhiambo Aduol, and Fahima Araphat Abdallah.

IEBC Chairperson position nominee Erastus Edung Ethekon during a past event.

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Judiciary