IEBC got it wrong on Okoa Kenya Signatures

Let me start by defining the word “signature” which has been at the centre of logjam between Okoa Kenya team and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, IEBC. According to Cambridge Dictionary, a signature – is “your name written by yourself, always in the same way, usually to show that something has been written or agreed by you.” It’s further defined as, “a person's name, or a mark representing it, as signed personally or by deputy, as in subscribing a letter or other document.”

While disputing the Okoa Kenya initiative, the IEBC provided Journalists with some representations – which looked like drawings of cats, dogs, cows and some unknown animals. According to IEBC, these were fictitious depictions, and as such were not considered to be signatures. However, going by the definition of signature, these representations are actually signatures and are valid since a signature can be any unique representation including but not limited to drawings. As a matter of fact, the whole idea about writing using hands is simply drawing.