Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Cheukati has stated that he will not appear before the National Dialogue Committee (NDC) after the team invited him, citing issues concerning the 2022 general election as a closed case.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the former IEBC chair stated that appearing before the committee would be tantamount to betraying the IEBC staff who were tortured and murdered during the election period.
The committee, co-chaired by Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, was formed to break the political impasse between Kenya Kwanza and Azimio La Umoja.
The NDC invited Chebukati to make submissions on the conduct of the 2022 elections, the results of which the opposition contested but the Supreme Court upheld.
Chebukati, on the other hand, has called for the formation of a commission of inquiry to investigate the events leading up to and following the contested elections.
Chebukati was to appear alongside the former Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera as well as former commissioners Abdi Guliye, Boya Molu, Francis Wanderi, Irene Masit and Justus Nyang’aya.
The Council of Governors, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, the Media Council of Kenya, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission and the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research Analysis are also expected to make their submissions today.
Others are lobby groups Amnesty International and Transparency International.
The committee which is holding its sittings at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi, is made up of 10 members, five from each side of the political divide.
It signed a framework agreement on August 30 that meant the members were to hold talks within 60 days and submit a report to Parliament for consideration.
