Kenyans deserve accountable leadership and institutions, LSK says in fresh list of demands

LSK President Charles Kanjama addresses the media on election preparedness police reform and accountability, October 30, 2026. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has urged Parliament to protect the livestreaming of polling station results ahead of the 2027 General Election, saying voters must be able to independently verify election outcomes.

In a statement on the country’s preparedness for the election, LSK called on Parliament to publish the approved text of the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, alongside a record of the amendments, to resolve conflicting accounts of what the National Assembly passed.

The society said Kenyans should not have to rely on competing political claims to establish what the law provides.

It urged Parliament to explicitly protect the livestreaming of results through a publicly accessible platform.

It also asked the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to explain how voters, candidates, journalists and observers will access and scrutinise the results.

LSK President Charles Kanjama, on Friday, October 30 further said electronic transmission and livestreaming serve different purposes. While Transmission sends results to IEBC systems, livestreaming allows the public to follow the process as results come in.

The society added that publishing polling station forms would provide another means of verifying the figures, warning that it would challenge in court any law that weakens public scrutiny of election results and seek orders to stop its implementation.

“We will not stand by as safeguards protecting the vote are dismantled,” the lawyers stated.

Abductions

On police accountability, LSK has given the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) seven days to arrest and charge suspects linked to the alleged abduction of Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich.

The society wants the DCI director to respond publicly and formally to allegations that officers attached to DCI headquarters were involved in Kiprotich’s abduction near Gilgil weighbridge on September 1.

It expressed concern over what it described as a lack of substantial action two months after the incident. LSK warned that failure to arrest and charge the suspects within seven days would prompt legal action to pursue command responsibility and accountability.

The society also called for the suspension of Communications Authority of Kenya Chairperson Charles Karondo and an investigation into allegations that he was involved in campaigns during the Ol Kalou by-election.

LSK said the matter should not be ignored because the by-election had ended. It stressed that public officers required to remain politically neutral must not use public resources, regulatory powers or official influence to give any party or candidate an unfair advantage.

Cabinet

LSK on Friday also declared President William Ruto’s Cabinet unconstitutional following the expiry of a court-granted deadline to comply with the two-thirds gender principle.

The society said four months had passed since the High Court declared the Cabinet unconstitutional for failing to meet the gender requirement. The period granted to the President to reconstitute it had also expired.

The lawyer further said the court order had not been stayed, revised or overturned, arguing that the continued failure to comply amounted to a violation of the Constitution.

It urged Attorney General Dorcas Oduor to advise the President to reconstitute the Cabinet in line with the two-thirds gender principle, warning against further delays.

“Kenyans need an election they can verify, a police service subject to effective constitutional safeguards and public officers who understand the obligations of their positions. LSK will continue to hold public institutions to account, uphold standards within the profession and take legal action where necessary.”