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The tribunal probing the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission  (IEBC )commissioner Irene Masit has recommended her removal from office.

The tribunal appointed to investigate her conduct chaired by Court of Appeal judge Aggrey Muchelule said Masit’s meetings with top Azimio la Umoja officials to discuss the possibility of moderating the presidential results in favour of Opposition leader Raila Odinga sealed her fate at the polls agency.

It also faulted Masit’s decision to join her former colleagues: then IEBC vice-chairperson Juliana Cherera and commissioners Justus Nyang’aya and Francis Wanderi at a press conference at the Serena Hotel on August 15 last year to distance themselves from the presidential election results announced by former IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati amounted to gross misconduct.

While arriving at the conclusion that Masit was unfit to continue holding the office of IEBC commissioner wrote;  “The actions by the Commissioners to proceed to Serena to issue a statement to disown the result that she had participated in tallying and verifying were intended to undermine and erode public trust in the commission and to the result. In our considered view, these actions amounted to gross misconduct.”

The tribunal forwarded its report to President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi yesterday, recommending that Masit be stripped of her position as commissioner.

A statement from State House read; “The tribunal has discharged its functions to inquire into the allegations in the petition against Commissioner Masit in strict observance of the law and has prepared a report on the findings and recommendations.”

“Having considered all the evidence tendered and the requisite laws, the tribunal is satisfied that the allegations of serious violation of the Constitution and other laws, and gross misconduct have been proved to the required standard and qualify a recommendation for the removal from office of Commissioner Masit,” the statement added.

“Having reached the conclusion, the tribunal, therefore, makes a recommendation that Commissioner Masit ought to be removed from the office of the IEBC commissioner,” it went on.

Improper influence

The tribunal in its report found Masit was in serious violation of the constitution and gross misconduct through her actions of August 15 saying she showed “she was amenable to improper influence and that she could not be trusted to be an impartial and neutral arbiter”.

It says Masit’s action of moving out of the gazetted National Tallying Centre at Bomas at a time when the Presidential Returning Officer was about to declare the results, and proceeding to make a parallel announcement at Serena Hotel was a blatant violation of  Section 6 of the Election Offences Act.

Muchelule’s panel noted that by rejecting the results that she was part of Masit and her former colleagues called into question the credibility of the entire election without placing before the country any information or document showing that the elections were either compromised or that the result would have in any way differed from that declared by the chairperson of IEBC.

“The evidence by Tribunal Counsel, according to us, remained unshaken and we accept it. Consequently, we make a finding that the Commission was visited by the two delegations and their mission was as stated by the witnesses,” the report read.

“We make a further finding that  Commissioner Masit agreed with the request by the delegation that they needed to interfere with the result by either declaring Baba as the winner or in the alternative they are moderated to allow for a re-run. They threatened that if that was not done the country would be plunged into chaos,” it adds.

It cited evidence on record that Masit’s decision to agree to the proposal by the two delegations to moderate the result of the Presidential Election to enable a re-run with the promise that there would be a reward if that was done amounted to gross misconduct on her part. The tribunal noted that evidence from footage and accommodation register presented by Simon Miller, the General Manager of Yaya Towers and Hotel showed that Masit resided at the hotel from August 15, 2022, to August 19, 2022.

The tribunal noted that the evidence presented confirmed that during Masit’s stay at the hotel, a number of senior officials from the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition had access to and frequented the hotel as shown in the logs.

“One of them was former CS Raphael Tuju who, as captured earlier on, was part of a delegation that had gone to meet members of the IEBC in an effort to persuade them to moderate results in favour of Raila Odinga or in the alternative force a run-off. This is further evidence of partiality and undue influence on the part of the Commissioner,” noted the tribunal.

“The evidence by Tribunal Counsel, according to us, remained unshaken and we accept it. Consequently, we make a finding that the Commission was visited by the two delegations and their mission was as stated by the witnesses,” reads the report.

Four petitions

Masit was the only commissioner left standing among the ‘Cherera Four’ after her former colleagues led by Cherera, Nyang’aya and Wanderi resigned before the tribunal began its sittings.

Four petitions had been filed against Masit and former colleagues accusing them of failing to follow the set-out guidelines for the verification, tallying and announcement of the presidential elections and agreeing to the proposal to alter the results of the presidential elections in favour of one candidate or in the alternative to force a runoff.

They were also accused of swearing affidavits in support of petitions challenging the presidential election results demonstrating incompetence on their part.

Besides Muchelule, other members of the tribunal included Carolyne Kamende Daudi who is the vice-chairperson, Linda Gakii Kiome, Mathew Njaramba Nyabena and Col. (Rtd.) Saeed Khamis Saeed.

The tribunal stated that Masit was duty-bound to conduct free and fair elections that are free from any intimidation, improper influence or corruption.