Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati has told off resigned commissioners who came back to office on Friday,saying that they will not be allowed back.
The commissioners include former vice-chairperson Consolata Maina, Paul Kurgat and Margaret Mwachanya.
In a statement, the chairman says the three commissioners issued a public statement of their resignation on April 16, and sent their resignation letters to the President as required by the law. However, they failed to copy their letters to the commission, which prompted court’s decision to term the resignation unprocedural.
Read: Uproar As Resigned IEBC Commissioners Storm Back To Office
Mr Chebukati said the three filed and submitted their clearance forms – having surrendered the commission’s assets and were cleared by the secretariat.
Chebukati says that he wrote to the treasury immediately they resigned, requesting it t discontinue their payments but says he has never received feedback.
Two of the commissioners returned to their offices on Friday, causing an uproar as lawyers termed the move as unethical and immoral.
Ms Maina and Ms Mwachanya stormed the commission’s offices last Friday, saying they are effectively still in office despite having announced their resignations in a press conference.
The two arrived at the commission mid-morning and went to Mr Chebukati’s office who left after refusing to see them, describing them as strangers whom he could only meet on appointment.
“More importantly the Judgment delivered by the High Court in Petition 212 of 2018 while affirming that the commission is properly constituted noted the former commissioners did not follow due process in resigning. However, the court further noted that it had taken judicial notice of the fact of the public action and decision of the commissioners in resigning and made further observation that the vacancies should be filled by appointment of new commissioners,” says Chebukati.
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