Tribunal hears petitions against Masit, says it has jurisdiction

IEBC Commissioner Irene Masit. [Jonah Onyango, Standard] The tribunal investigating the conduct of IEBC commissioner Irene Masit started hearing the petitions against her yesterday. Ms Masit's legal team, however, insisted that the tribunal chaired by Court of Appeal Judge Aggrey Muchelule lacks the jurisdiction to conduct the process. In the cross-examination of witnesses that started at 9.30am at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) in Nairobi, Masit, through lawyer Donald Kipkorir, once again tried to dismiss the entire process. Mr Kipkorir told Justice Muchelule that the petition before the tribunal lacks constitutional, statutory and factual foundation and that the tribunal should be stopped from proceeding. Kipkorir asked whether petitions filed without affidavit evidence and having gone through the National Assembly are allowed to be presented before the tribunal. It is Parliament that recommended the removal of the Juliana Cherera-led faction from office after passing the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) report. From the report, the committee chaired by Tharaka MP George Murugara said they were satisfied that the petitions had sufficient grounds for the removal of the four commissioners from office. Three of the commissioners - IEBC Vice Chair Cherera, Justus Nyanga'ya and Francis Wanderi - have already resigned, leaving Masit to face the tribunal alone. While tabling the JLAC report in Parliament, Murugara said the petitions had disclosed enough evidence on serious violations of the Constitution, gross misconduct and incompetence. The tribunal's lead counsel, Peter Munge, yesterday said as long as there is tangible evidence to sustain the allegations against Masit then the tribunal must make a consequential determination. "The answer of jurisdiction is well settled in terms of evidence," he said. In his ruling, Muchelule overruled Kipkorir's objections, meaning the tribunal will proceed to hear the petition. The judge said a detailed ruling will be delivered this morning. Earlier, Masit had moved to court seeking to stop the proceedings to allow her time to argue her case in detail in court. The first witness before the tribunal was Rev David Ndumbi who accused Masit of being part of a team that almost led the country to the "dark past". In his sworn affidavit, Ndumbi accuses Masit of demonstrating partiality by "agreeing to a proposal to alter the results in favour of one candidate". Ndumbi told the tribunal that he was at Bomas of Kenya - the national tallying centre where presidential election results were expected to be announced - the day the four IEBC commissioners staged a walk out before Chairman Wafula Chebukati announced the results. He narrated how all of a sudden they saw on screen other IEBC officials at Serena yet they were all working from Bomas. Kipkorir, however, questioned Ndumbi's credibility, accusing him of being a "fraudster". The tribunal is expected to conclude hearings and a compile a report for the President within 30 days.

Tribunal hears petitions against Masit, says it has jurisdiction

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