By The People Tribune
The recruitment of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Secretary/Chief Executive Officer has suffered a major legal setback after the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) at Malindi issued temporary conservatory orders halting further progression of the recruitment process.
In ELRCPET/E005/2026 – Thomas Kennedy Balala vs Erastus Edung Ethekon & IEBC & 11 Others, Justice J.N. Abuodha, on 5 November 2026, certified the petition as urgent and granted conservatory orders in terms of Prayers 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the Notice of Motion dated 5 November 2026.
The orders will remain in force pending the inter partes hearing scheduled for 17 November 2026.
The court’s intervention effectively puts the recruitment process on hold, including the interviews of nine shortlisted candidates that had been scheduled for 12 and 13 November 2026.
The affected candidates are; Anthony Omerikwa, Halakhe Waqo, Harley Mutisya, Edmund Odiwuor Malitt, and Andrew Gitau Kimani.
The others are; Mohamed Abdullahi Abdi, Edward Katama Ngeywa, Martina Wato Yattani, and Nelly Ilongo.
The Malindi ruling comes against the backdrop of a separate constitutional challenge filed before the High Court in Nairobi.
In HCCHRPET/E749/2026 – Augustus Kyalo Muli & NLP vs IEBC & KPMG & AG, Justice R.E. Aburili, on 4 November 2026, declined to certify the matter as extremely urgent for purposes of ex-parte consideration and directed that it be mentioned on 11 November 2026.
Dr Augustus Kyalo Muli’s petition challenges the IEBC’s decision to engage KPMG Advisory Services Limited to undertake what the Commission described in its statement of 30 October 2026 as “end-to-end recruitment including advertisement, receipt, longlisting, verification and shortlisting.”
The petition raises constitutional questions concerning the independence and mandate of the Commission, particularly under Article 250(12) of the Constitution of Kenya and Section 10 of the IEBC Act.
Dr Muli questions whether the delegation of these recruitment functions to an external consultancy is consistent with the constitutional and statutory framework governing appointments to the Commission’s secretariat.
In a further push for transparency and accountability, Dr Muli has also invoked Article 35 of the Constitution, seeking access to critical documents relating to the recruitment, including; the contract between IEBC and KPMG Advisory Services Limited, the recruitment scoring matrix, the resolution of the Commission authorising the engagement, and the fees and financial terms of the consultancy arrangement.
Welcoming the development in Malindi, Dr Augustus Kyalo Muli said:
“We welcome the Malindi orders. They confirm prima facie urgency. However, since IEBC contests ELRC jurisdiction over Article 250(12) appointments, we will still urge the Constitutional Court in Nairobi on 11 November to grant sustainable protection.”
The two proceedings bring into sharp focus fundamental questions about the legality, transparency and accountability of the IEBC CEO recruitment process.
While the Malindi proceedings have resulted in temporary conservatory protection, the Nairobi constitutional petition raises broader questions about the Commission’s authority to outsource substantive recruitment functions and the constitutional safeguards governing appointments within an independent constitutional commission.
The Nairobi proceedings scheduled for 11 November 2026 will therefore be significant in determining the next steps in the constitutional challenge.
The central issue is not merely who becomes the next IEBC Secretary/CEO, but whether the process through which that person is appointed fully complies with the Constitution, the law and the principles of transparency, accountability and institutional independence.
