The former chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Wafula Chebukati is dead.
Chebukati died Thursday February 20 night after a long battle with cancer in the brain, a family spokesman said.
He died at a hospital he had been admitted for weeks.
He had been ill for long and had sought medical attention in Kenya and abroad.
He was last week admitted to a hospital in the city in a critical condition.
He had two head surgeries to remove a tumor. The surgeries did not stabilize him, those aware of his condition said. A close family member disclosed that Chebukati had been undergoing treatment at home and was taken to the hospital after the situation got worse a week ago.
At the hospital, the doctors said there was nothing much they could do to help him. He was put on a life support machine. The family was also asked to decide what to do with him. The reports prompted Kenyans to go to social media to give their reactions. Some suggested the sickness and death were as a result of how he handled both the 2017 and 2022 polls.
In 2023 President William Ruto opened up on the intrigues surrounding the announcement of the August 9, 2022, presidential results. He claimed there was a plot to murder Chebukati, the then the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson.
Ruto spoke on January 17 2023 during an engagement with Constitutional Commissions and Independent Offices at State House Nairobi.
The President cited Chebukati and the experience of the August 2022 polls.
In what sounded like a movie script, the President alleged that there was a syndicate to execute a series of strategies consisting of bribery, blackmail, extortion, threats and intimidation of various public officials of the IEBC before and after the tallying process was done.
He added the IEBC commissioners had been promised lavish gifts to overturn what he said was the people’s sovereignty.
Chebukati was appointed to the position on a six-year tenure in January 2017 by the retired President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta.
Chebukati took office in January 2017, seven months before the General Election. His team’s appointment was greeted with hope after their predecessors resigned from the commission after months of protest, as the opposition expressed a lack of confidence in them.
Two disputed presidential elections later, Chebukati and the IEBC he led caused much division and anger in the country.
To some, Chebukati was a hero who steered a wavering ship with resoluteness and calm. To others, he is a villain who has bungled two elections.
Chebukati has also found himself in the spotlight for overseeing some of the most expensive elections in Africa.
The 63-year-old once admitted Kenya runs the most expensive election in the region, but his efforts to bring down the cost have borne no fruits. An ardent golfer, Chebukati is a member of several local clubs.
He was a member of the Kenya Golfing Society and previously served as the captain and chairman of both Mombasa and Nyali Golf clubs and a committee member of the Kenya Golf Union.
The man who was born in Bokoli village in Bungoma County holds an MBA degree from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. The 2022 presidential election petition left the commission more divided than ever.
The country too is yet to heal from the poll results and announcement.
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