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Chebukati shuts door on officials who quit IEBC

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Electoral commission chairman Wafula Chebukati. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Electoral commission chairman Wafula Chebukati has confirmed that Connie Maina and Margret Mwachanya, the two commissioners who resigned in April, want their jobs back, even as activist Okiya Omtatah returned to court seeking orders to have the duo and another official barred from resuming work.

Mr Chebukati said the two had duly resigned from the commission and warned they will not be accepted back as they had cleared out of the commission after their public resignation on April 16, 2018, accusing the two of violating Chapter 6 of the Constitution.

“They are not supposed to be working here because there is no space for former commissioners at IEBC. They resigned, cleared and returned all assets of the commission in their possession and as far as the commission is concerned they are no longer commissioners,” Mr Chebukati said.

Mr Chebukati spoke moments after the two walked out of the commission at about 9.30am.

Like Friday, the duo reported to the commission at 7am yesterday but left after they failed to meet the chairman. The two are using the window created by the High Court which noted that they had not followed proper procedure when they resigned in April.

READ: IEBC crippled as three more commissioners step down

Sources reckon the two arrived at the commission only to find their former offices under lock and key.

After hanging in the waiting area for about two hours, Ms Maina and Ms Mwachanya left, promising journalists that they would return to issue a statement later in the day. They did not. Ms Maina, who until her resignation in April was the vice chairperson, and Ms Mwachanya resigned alongside Mr Paul Kurgat accusing Mr Chebukati of lacking the leadership to run the commission.

In the court papers filed yesterday, Mr Omtatah argues that he seeks to protect the constitution and the rule of law which he asserts has been threatened by the action of the three former commissioners.

“The application seeks to stop the imminent resumption of duty by the three, who have announced and demonstrated their shameless resolve to resume duty, some five months after they had voluntarily resigned effective April 16, 2018 and stopped reporting on duty,” says Mr Omtatah.