National Assembly Vetting Session | Justice and Legal Affairs Committee

Tuesday 3rd June, 2025 | Afternoon Session
Streamed 3rd June 2025

The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee conducted vetting sessions for nominees to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), including Erastus Edung Ethekon for Chairperson, and six others for commissioner roles. The committee evaluated each nominee's qualifications, financial transparency, impartiality, and vision for strengthening Kenya’s electoral system. Discussions emphasized the role of youth, gender inclusivity, and digital tools in safeguarding electoral integrity.

Topics Discussed

• Vetting and Constitutional Compliance

  • Ensuring the nomination process meets constitutional standards
  • Integrity and suitability of nominees for public office

• Electoral Reforms and Inclusivity

  • Enhancing participation of youth and marginalized groups
  • Leveraging technology and social media to improve transparency and voter turnout
  • Addressing outdated census data in boundary delimitation efforts

• Gender Equality and Representation

  • Enforcing the two-thirds gender principle
  • Support for women in leadership through affirmative action frameworks

• Ethical Standards and Transparency

  • Financial disclosures and net worth declarations
  • Past affiliations and measures to ensure impartiality

Key Takeaways and Decisions

• Constitutional Adherence
  All nominees were expected to demonstrate alignment with the Constitution, particularly in upholding Chapter Six on leadership and integrity.

• Transparency and Accountability
  The committee demanded full disclosure of financial assets and any potential conflicts of interest to uphold public trust.

• Youth and Gender Inclusion
  Several nominees committed to civic education campaigns and using modern communication channels to engage younger and underrepresented voters.

• Ongoing Deliberations
  Some candidacies remained under review pending further analysis of their disclosures and background checks.

Major Participants

• George Kitonga Murugara, Chair of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, led the vetting process.

• Nominee for Chairperson:

  • Erastus Edung Ethekon

• Nominees for Commissioner Roles:

  • Ann Njeri Nderitu
  • Moses Alutalala Mukhwana
  • Mary Karen Sorobit
  • Hassan Noor Hassan
  • Francis Odhiambo Aduol
  • Fahima Araphat Abdallah

• Committee Members included:

  • Hon. Farah Maalim
  • Hon. Karemba Muchangi
  • Hon. Otiende Amolo
  • Hon. Zulekha Hassan
  • Additional members who questioned the nominees on electoral preparedness, ethical standing, and constitutional knowledge.

Key Moments

• Strong emphasis on modernizing election infrastructure, including secure digital systems
• Concerns raised over the reliability of demographic data in boundary review processes
• Repeated commitments from nominees to act impartially and recuse themselves in the event of any conflicts of interest

This summary was generated from official YouTube streams of the Kenyan Parliament using bunge-bits, an automated transcription and summarization tool.