55% of Kenyans say IEBC Recruitment lacks merit, TIFA says » Capital News

NAIROBI, May 7 – An opinion poll by TIFA Research reveals that 55 percent of Kenyans believe the recruitment process for the next Chairperson and Members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was not based on merit.

The report, which targeted 2,024 respondents, points to a serious legitimacy deficit affecting both the Commission and the appointing authorities.

“The data clearly shows that public confidence in the IEBC vetting process is strongly influenced by how individuals perceive the credibility of past elections. Those who believe previous elections were fair tend to trust the current process, while those who view past elections as flawed express deep skepticism,” the report states.

The publication of the report comes just a day after President William Ruto received the final report on the recruitment of the new IEBC Chairperson and Commissioners.

The selection panel, chaired by Dr. Nelson Makanda, concluded its month-long interview process on April 25, 2025.

The process began on March 24, with interviews for the Chairperson position conducted from March 24 to 26.

Interviews for Commission Members were held from March 27 to April 25.

Of the 111 individuals shortlisted for the Member positions, 107 were interviewed after four candidates withdrew for personal reasons.

On April 16, the Chairperson of the Commission on Administrative Justice, Charles Dulo, wrote to Dr. Makanda requesting clarification on the inclusion of six additional candidates beyond the original shortlist.

This inquiry was prompted by widespread public concern expressed across various media platforms about the addition of six candidates—Hassan Noor Hassan, Jibril Maalim Mohamed, Michaels Ben Oliewo, Charles Kipyegon Mutai, Stephen Kibet Ngeno, and Joel Mwita Daniel—to the shortlist for the vacant positions of Chairperson and Commissioners shortly before the scheduled interviews.

The Commission cited events from March 14, 2025, when the Selection Panel published a shortlist of 11 candidates for the Chairperson position and 105 for the Member positions. On the same day, an addendum was issued featuring two additional Chairperson candidates and 26 new Member candidates. However, no explanation was provided for this addition, according to the Ombudsman.

In the letter, the Ombudsman seeks clarification on the circumstances or criteria that led to the inclusion of the six additional candidates, as well as the reasons for their initial omission from the original shortlist—despite their inclusion in the initial pool of 1,356 applicants.

The Ombudsman also requested details of the selection criteria used for these six candidates, whether the same standards were applied as in the initial shortlist, and a timeline of when the decision to include them was made, including the authority under which that decision was approved.

In a separate letter to President William Ruto dated May 6, 2025, Wiper Democratic Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka insisted that the recruitment process must involve comprehensive consultations and mutual agreement between the ruling coalition and the opposition.

He emphasized that appointing new IEBC leadership must not be a unilateral decision by the Kenya Kwanza Alliance or any single party.