Kisii County and Governor Simba Arati has gotten a major legal victory after the court directed the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to finalize the appointment of Elijah Obebo as Deputy Governor.
Kisii governor Simba Arati during a past function in Nairobi. Photo Credit: Nairobi News/Diana Ngila.
This followed the impeachment of Dr. Robert Monda, after which Governor Arati nominated Mr. Obebo who is the current chairman of the Kisii County Public Service Board, for the position.
In a judgment dated July 4, 2024, Justice Teresa Achieng' Odera of the Kisii Law Courts ruled that IEBC's failure to gazette Mr. Obebo was not a legal barrier but an administrative formality.
The court ordered IEBC's chief executive, Marjan Hussein Marjan, to complete the gazettement within seven days.
Failure to do so would result in Mr. Obebo's immediate swearing-in, given his prior vetting and approval by the county assembly.
The role of the returning officer, as clarified by the court, includes receiving and scrutinizing nomination papers, issuing certificates, and subsequently gazetting Mr. Obebo's appointment.
Earlier communications from IEBC had cited the absence of a commission chairperson as a reason for the delay, advising the county to seek judicial intervention for resolution.
In response to this, IEBC's Director of Legal Services, Chrispine Owiye, described the county's petition as baseless and risked disrupting the legal process.
He argued that IEBC could only act on a court order regarding the appointment and gazettement of officials.
Screenshot of Saturday Nation dated 6th July 2024