Wafula Chebukati hospitalised after his name removed from the JSC shortlist

 

Wafula Chebukati, the former chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), is in hospital in Nairobi.

Chebukati, who has been out of the public eye for some time, is ill. Without going into specifics, the former IEBC chief has spent many weeks in the hospital at Aga Khan.

Sources suggest he has a brain tumour; however, this has yet to be confirmed. People allege that the illness developed after the 2022 elections. That was a major reason for the removal of his name from JSC shortlist.

The announcement comes at a time when suspicion has been swirling over how he missed the Judicial Service Commission's (JSC) list for the job of Judge of the Court of Appeal.

The JSC advertised the vacancies on October 13, 2023, and Chebukati was one of the candidates with a strong chance of selection.

However, Chief Justice Martha Koome's commission accepted an application from former IEBC Chair Issack Hassan Ahmed in a Tuesday, April 23, 2024, advertisement.

Hassan, a lawyer, is one of 40 individuals who reached the final list of applicants for a Court of Appeal position, where the Judiciary is looking to employ eleven appellant judges.

According to the notification, the JSC cut the number of candidates from 81 to 41 after reviewing the shortlist, to which Chebukati and many High Court justices and attorneys applied.

Interviews for the current High Court judges, Employment and Labour Relations Court judges, and Environment and Lands Court justices will start on June 3, 2024.

The selection includes Alfred Mabeya, the current judge of the Commercial Division, Chacha Mwita, Hedwig Ong'udi, Anthony Mrima, Christine Meoli, Daniel Ogembo, Grace Nzioka, James Wakiaga, Kimondo Kanyi, Jairus Ngaah, Joseph Oguttu, and Onesmus Makau.