•Another petitioner wants Chebukati and commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu removed on charges of gross violation of the law.
•JLAC will hear the petition as well, even though the three retire in January.
Moses Odhiambo was decorated the Star Journalist of the Year 2021.
The citation says, “You are hard-working, disciplined and determined with a positive attitude. Always first to the office, you patiently sift through piles of documents and break exclusive stories”.
These professional qualities of the senior political writer come out in full display in the Star's top story for Monday headlined, “IEBC Four: The tough road ahead as petitions begin”.
Four petitions have been filed in Parliament for the removal of IEBC vice chairperson Juliana Cherera and her counterparts Justus Nyang'aya, Francis Wanderi and Irene Masit.
They sharply and openly disagreed with chairman Wafula Chebukati and two other commissioners over August 9, 2022, presidential vote tallying and final results.
Their press conferences at the Serena Hotel introduced to Kenyan political lingo the term “opaque”, which is how they dismissed the tallying of presidential results at Bomas of Kenya by chairman Chebukati.
The highly sensational claims put the nation on edge, given Kenya’s violent history of disputed presidential election results.
The allegations of the Cherera Four, dismissed by Chebukati and two other IEBC commissioners, formed some of the grounds upon which Azimio presidential loser Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua challenged President William Ruto’s election at the Supreme Court.
The judges unanimously threw out the petition on September 5.
The National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, chaired by Tharaka MP Gitonga Murugara, has scheduled hearings with the four petitioners pushing for the removal of Cherera & Co, starting Thursday.
To get this story, journalist Odhiambo obtained a copy of Parliament’s invitation to one of the witnesses to appear before JLAC.
He also patiently pored over the four petitions and informed the Star readers of the grounds upon which they want Cherera and her colleagues kicked out of office.
Odhiambo reports on the next steps after the JLAC has concluded its hearings on December 1.
There is no doubt the nation’s eyes will be transfixed on the parliamentary hearings of the petitions beginning Thursday, as this is a matter of huge public interest.
Another petitioner wants Chebukati and commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu removed on charges of gross violation of the law. JLAC will hear the petition as well, even though the three retire in January.
Finally, Odhiambo interviews two election experts about the petitions and implications for Kenya’s burgeoning democracy.
Brilliant reporting! Radio Africa Group was right to crown Moses Odhiambo the Star Journalist of the Year 2021, don’t you think?