Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Wafula Chebukati has turned down a request to appear before the National Dialogue Committee.

Taking to X, (formerly Twitter) Chebukati said that former IEBC commissioners Professor Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu will also not make an appearance before the committee on Thursday, September 28. 

According to Chebukati, the issues the committee wants them to discuss have already been dealt with, adding that a Commission of Inquiry should be formed to probe activities in the 2022 general elections. 

“To participate would be to betray IEBC staff who were tortured, murdered, and a reward for impunity. Instead, a Commission of Inquiry should be formed,” he posted.

The former electoral agency chairperson tagged the two former commissioners in the post. Ex-commissioner Molu reposted.    

Guliye’s last activity on the platform was on September 13, where he reposted a judgment of the Supreme Court in a case pitting the Commission against nominated MP

Chebukati, Molu, Guliye, and commissions CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan have been on record saying that the election was free and fair.

This has however been contested by the Azimio coalition led by Raila Odinga and Martha Karua who maintain that they defeated President William Ruto and his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua in the 2022 polls.

They were expected to appear before the committee alongside former Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera as well as former commissioners Francis Wanderi, Irene Masit, and Justus Nyang’aya.

The committee which is holding its sittings at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi, has been collecting views from Kenyans on electoral justice and the cost of living.

It will also collect views on the fidelity to the Political Parties Act outlawing the meddling of parties by the ruling coalition or party and the entrenchment of the Constituency Development Fund as well as the offices of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Opposition leader in the constitution.

Already, former Attorney General Professor Githu Muigai and the Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu have made their submissions. 

Others expected to make an appearance are the Council of Governors, the Media Council of Kenya, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission, and the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research Analysis as well as lobby groups Amnesty International and Transparency International. By Fred Kagonye, The Standard

Senators have raised questions over the operations of Tullow Oil Company in the country with residents of Turkana County saying they are yet to benefit with the firm’s presence in the country for the last 13 years.

Turkana Senator James Lomenen told members of the Senate Energy Committee who visited the company premises in Lokichar area yesterday that the host community was still suffering despite having the precious crude oil worth billions of shillings within their vicinity.

Lomenen told the committee chaired by Nyeri Senator Wahome Wamatinga that the community was yet to get its five percent share while the Turkana County government was yet to get its 20 percent share from the proceeds obtained by the company after it gets crude oil from the area.

“I would like to tell the Senate Energy committee that the local community has not been involved in the activities of Tullow Oil neither have they benefitted with its presence in this region, the locals have not been compensated for the land occupied by the company,” said Lomenen.

The Turkana Senator said that the local leaders have not been engaged by the company leadership neither have they been told about the cost of the project which will set a standard for them to demand for their fair share of earnings from oil exploration exercises which they thought would change their lives.

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale said that research done showed that Turkana County has the potential of producing 585 million barrels of crude oil and that it would most likely make Sh52 billion and that the financial benefits for the people of the local community and the entire country should be known. 

Tullow: Making of a scandal and how Kenya’s oil dream fell apart

Khalwale said that government engineers need to be part of the team carrying out the exploration exercise so that they can give the true operational standards of the company since at the moment the company activities were shrouded in a mystery and nobody can confirm the true position.

“We would like to know how the people of Turkana and the entire country will benefit by having the oil exploration exercise by Tullow Oil in the country, this company must come out clearly and tell us how our people are going to benefit while it is in the country, this should be clear to all,” said Khalwale.

Wamatinga said that the financial soundness of Tullow Oil Company was shrouded in a mystery while there are no details of the crude oil that had already been sold by the company while there was little public participation in its activities matters which he said are of great concern.

The Nyeri Senator said that his committee will liaise with the relevant government agencies to ensure that the discovery of oil in the country does not turn into a curse for the local residents who felt that the project was not benefiting them since the company set up its operations in the country in 2010.

The committee Chairman said that they will be looking for the best practices globally in oil exploration and that they would also like to know the strategy the company is putting in place to attract funding from international finance institutions and also the validity of their operating license.

“Tullow Oil has not come out clearly on the validity of its operating license, we are also aware that some local partners withdrew due to strategic reasons, we would also follow up on the government plan to ensure the company honours its obligations to the local community and the country,” said Wamatinga.

Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana asked the company to state what it has in store for the residents of Turkana, Marsabit and Isiolo Counties where it has set up its operations and wanted to know the goodwill paid to the residents of the three counties who had a lot of expectations.

Senator Oburu Oginga wondered why the company was taking too long to carry out oil exploration asking whether it was the government bureaucracy that was slowing down its operations and that the company needs to come out clearly to state why its activities appeared to stagnate.

Tullow Oil External Affairs Manager Franklin Juma told the Senate Committee that the company was looking for international financial institutions to pump in around Sh518 million so that it can be able to achieve the targets it has set for 25 years’ strategic plan in the country. By Edwin Nyarangi, The Standard

The Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) has announced partnerships with UN bodies in its fight against corruption.

Among the bodies roped in are the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). 

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said that the two bodies had been partnering with the government in the fight against corruption, and would still partner with them in their strategic plan for 2023-2028.

"States parties to this convention are expected to cooperate in every aspect of the fight against corruption, including prevention, investigation, asset recovery and the prosecution of offenders. States are also required to act in the private and public sectors and to promote the work of civil society in this area," Mudavadi said during the report launch on Tuesday.

"Kenya will continue to domesticate all provisions of the convention to ensure that we have a robust policy, legal and institutional framework that will systematically tackle corruption." 

Mudavadi also called on EACC to collaborate with other anti-graft agencies locally such as the Office of the Auditor General, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Parliament, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the Assets Recovery Agency and the Financial Reporting Centre among others.

Mudavadi's pledge to EACC

Mudavadi, who pledged that the government would provide EACC with resources, asked Kenyans to elect leaders of integrity into office to help combat corruption.

"Citizens must also understand that one of the most effective ways to contribute to the combat against corruption is by electing leaders of unwavering integrity to public office and ensuring that state officers are not only qualified but also maintain their suitability throughout their tenure. Consequently, the government will provide ample resources to empower EACC to effectively implement the civic preventive strategies outlined in the Strategic Plan," Mudavadi added.

Mudavadi also urged EACC to prosecute all corruption cases and individuals without regard to their status or position in society.

"No individual, regardless of their position or influence, should be considered a “sacred cow” immune to accountability. The EACC must investigate and prosecute cases of corruption without prejudice, upholding the law equally for all citizens," he added. By Francis Muli , People Daily

JUBA, SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 (SUDANS POST) — South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Tuesday evening signed the controversial elections bill into law, ignoring opposition calls for removal of a section in which an elected president would have the right to appoint a portion of the members of parliament.

“President Kiir on Tuesday signed the National Elections Act, 2012 (Amendment) Act, 2023 bill into law,” the presidency said in a statement issued just after the signing of the bill by Kiir, adding that the bill was presented to the head of state by parliament speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba who is a member of Kiir’s party.

“The bill is an important element in the Revitalized peace agreement for the process of elections to commence,” said Kumba following the signing of the bill. “The country is now ready to start the preparation for the elections by putting in place the mechanism for parties to do elections.”

The bill, known as National Elections Act 2012 (Amendment Bill 2023) was passed last Thursday, largely by lawmakers representing the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM-IG) in the transitional parliament.

Lawmakers from the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by First Vice President Riek Machar Teny, boycotted the sitting in which the bill would later be passed in their absence.

They were specifically opposing a new provision which gives a future president the power to appoint at least seventeen (17) members of parliament which account for 5 percent of all the parliamentarians after elections.

CEPO WELCOMES SIGNING OF BILL INTO LAW

In a statement, civil society watchdog Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), welcomed the signing of the bill into law and stressed the importance of the creation of a legal institutional environment for conduct of elections.

“CEPO appreciates the president in fast-tracking the signing of the national elections bill into a law although it was challenged by the opposition over the introduction of the 5% power for the president to appoint 17 parliamentarians of the 332 parliamentarians after the public voting for the rest of the parliamentarians,” the statement signed by CEPO’s Executive Director Edmund Yakani reads in part.

“The creation of legal and institutional environment for the conduct of the proposed elections for December 2024 is essential within the month of the October 2024 as we advocated after the president address of the UN Security Council in New York,” the statement added.

Yakani further said that his organization “will be issuing policy direction opinion on the use of the 5% power of elected press to appoint in relation of promotion or embracing observation of inclusivity for effective participation of minority groups.”

“It should be the elections commission to develop guidelines for the use of the 5% for elected president to use,” it added. - Sudans Post