People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has said the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) cannot be trusted to conduct credible 2027 General Election polls, accusing the electoral agency of failing to stop voter bribery, violence and electoral offences during the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.

Speaking in an interview on a local TV station on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, Karua said the commission’s handling of the mini-poll had exposed serious weaknesses that continue to undermine public confidence in Kenya’s electoral process.

“IEBC came out very poorly in Ol Kalou. Bribery was open. They did not sanction the government,” Karua said.

Her criticism follows a by-election that was widely dominated by accusations of open voter bribery, political violence, intimidation and the deployment of masked goons around polling stations despite the presence of election officials and security personnel.

The Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election was held to fill the seat left vacant following the death of MP David Njuguna Kiaraho. Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) candidate Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru won the election by a landslide, defeating United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Samuel Mushina Nyaga.

Ol Kalou 2027 projection

However, the election attracted national attention less because of the result and more because of claims of widespread electoral malpractice.

Witnesses reported political operatives openly distributing cash to voters outside polling stations, while videos circulating on social media showed chaotic scenes involving masked men, confrontations and the use of tear gas.

Rights groups also condemned attacks on journalists covering the election, while the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) later launched investigations into the reported violence.

Karua argued that the IEBC failed to exercise its constitutional mandate to prevent electoral offences despite widespread public evidence of voter bribery and intimidation.

She also criticised IEBC Commissioner Ann Nderitu over remarks suggesting that not every gift issued during campaigns amounts to voter bribery.

“One of the commissioners, Madam Nderitu, legitimised it, saying that not every gift is a bribe, it’s a treat. A treat and a bribe are just different ways of naming the same wrongdoing,” Karua said.

According to the former Justice Minister, there can be no distinction between gifts and inducements when an election is underway.

“You cannot treat people where there is an election. It is bribery. It’s a form of bribery,” she said.

Karua further faulted the electoral commission for asking members of the public to submit evidence of electoral offences instead of acting on information already available to its officials.

“They have members of the commission and employees on the ground. They are consumers of the media like ourselves. They are seeing clips of everything happening. They are seeing violence. They do nothing about it,” she said.

She maintained that the commission had sufficient evidence to investigate and sanction those involved in voter bribery, violence and other electoral offences but failed to act, raising fresh questions about the IEBC’s preparedness to oversee the 2027 General Election.

IEBC’s acid test

Instead, Karua credited Ol Kalou residents with defending the integrity of the election despite what she described as institutional failure.

“The people of Ol Kalou understood they were on their own, and they exercised their right as the people. They were able to safeguard the integrity of the poll. That is what Kenyans must do,” she said.

The PLP leader warned that the commission’s performance in recent by-elections had reinforced public doubts about its ability to deliver free, fair and credible elections.

“This IEBC cannot be trusted. They have shown us that in the three by-elections,” Karua said.

She urged Kenyans not to rely solely on the electoral commission to protect democracy.

“On their own, they will not deliver. Kenyans must fill the gap,” she added.

The Ol Kalou by-election has since become one of Kenya’s most controversial mini-polls in recent years, with reports of voter bribery, election violence, intimidation, black Toyota Prados linked to political operatives and masked goons dominating public debate instead of the electoral outcome.

The events in Ol Kalou have reignited calls for stronger enforcement of electoral laws, tougher action against voter bribery and election violence, and reforms aimed at restoring public confidence in the IEBC ahead of the 2027 General Election.