Shollei applauds IEBC’s tough action in Kasipul ahead of by-election
By Mabonga Makhanu, November 25, 2025Uasin Gishu Woman Representative, who also doubles as the National Assembly Deputy Speaker, Gladys Shollei, has lauded the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for reprimanding Kasipul by-election candidates over electoral violence witnessed during their campaigns.
Speaking during an interview on a local TV station on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, she commended the electoral body for “rolling heads” and summoning both the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) candidate, Boyd Were, and independent candidate Philip Aroko, and fining them Ksh 1 million each.
They were also warned that should they continue engaging in violence such as that which recently led to loss of lives, the commission would call off the elections and strip them from the race.
Shollei noted that she liked the hardline stance the IEBC had taken against the candidates, saying it was a good approach to curb such incidents.
According to Shollei, such cautions instil responsibility in candidates, since breaching the peace agreement they signed after being summoned by the IEBC would risk disqualification from the race.
“I am very impressed by IEBC. I saw what they did with Kasipul the other day, where they fined the candidates Ksh1 million each, they made them sign a peace agreement. I like the hard stance that they took against the candidates,” Shollei stated
“I like the fact that they told the candidates that if you breach, we will not fine you but disqualify you from the race.”
Sholei’s tenure at IEBC
Having previously served as an officer at the IEBC before moving to work as Registrar of the Judiciary during the early days of the electoral body, she said that by-elections are good training grounds and serve as a test of how the general elections will be run.
She explained that during her tenure at the IEBC, successes in by-elections used to earn the commission accolades from other electoral bodies outside Kenya.
She added that electoral violence was also common at the time, and just like the current fines issued to Kasipul candidates, the commission took similar actions—citing the Makadara by-election in 2010, where Mike Sonko was running for office for the first time.
She went on to acknowledge that after the IEBC’s warning to the Kasipul candidates, calm has since been restored in the area.
This comes days after Boyd Were and his rival Philip Aroko appeared before the IEBC, where, after signing the peace agreement, they vowed to maintain peace throughout the campaigns, which elapsed on Monday, November 24, 2025.