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• Sat May 31 2025

Proposed IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon said it was not his initial will to go for the particular post due to the negative sentiments around it

He thought of only going for a commissioner's position, but his close associates insisted he goes for the chairman post and went ahead to apply on his behalf

Ethekon's revelation caught the curiosity of the JLAC members, who wanted to establish if he had the self-will to be the chairman of the electoral commission

Nominee for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairmanship, Erastus Etheko, was at pains to convince the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) that he has the true self-will to lead the country's elections management body.

IEBC chairman nominee Erastus Ethekon (pictured) facing the JLAC committee. Photo: National Assembly.

Source: Facebook

This was after he revealed that he did not apply for the chairman's post directly.

Did Erastus Ethekon want to be IEBC chairman?

Ethekon explained that he was not in the country when the interested candidates for the IEBC posts were invited to submit their applications.

At first, he was not keen on taking the chairman job owing to the negative talk it has always attracted over the years.

"I was reluctant even to apply for this job given the negativity and all these things around this position," Ethekon revealed to the committee.

However, despite his strong stance against being an IEBC official, Ethekon's friends working in a cybercafe urged him to consider applying for the chairman's job, given that he was properly qualified.

Their counsel did not move the nominee, who was still not keen on working for the IEBC.

How Erastus Ethekon's application for IEBC job was done

Ethekon's friends insisted on him giving it a shot; he eventually gave in but settled for a commissioner's post.

All the while, he was stationed in South Africa, where he was working with the African Union Development Agency.

The friends still insisted that he goes for the chairman's position.

Having copies of his documents in their database, the cyber attendants filed the application for Ethekon and later informed him.

He seemed to suggest that the application was against his will.

"At first, I thought maybe I should just apply for the commissioner and you know the hot seat, leave it alone, but they actually went and submitted the documents both for the chair and for the member. So when I was in South Africa, they sent me a screenshot; they had submitted the documents, and later on, when I was on my way to Angola, I saw my name in the newspapers that had been shortlisted," Ethekon explained.

Proposed IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon appearing before JLAC for vetting. Photo: National Assembly.

Source: Facebook

How MPs cornered Erastus Ethekon

The nominee's account provoked concerns from a section of JLAC members, who got the impression that the nominee might, after all, not have had the urge to be the IEBC chairman.

"So it is not you who applied? posed West Mugirango MP Stephen Mogaka.

"I think that's very important. Are you saying you did not submit your own application for this position? Right? posed Rarieda's Otiende Amollo.

Perhaps having noted the weight of his accounts, he quickly strived to correct it, insisting that he was indeed the one who instructed the cybercafe attendants to do the application on his behalf.

The chair of the committee, Tharaka MP George Murugara, then butted in with leading questions to help Ethekon get out of the delicate situation.

"You had applied yourself, you had signed the documents?" Murugara posed, to which Ethekon answered in the affirmative.

Meanwhile, he promised to streamline the electoral process in the country, noting that he had learnt from the supposed shortcomings of his predecessors.

He said he won't be a pushover, toeing the line of any interest group.

What is Erastus Ethekon's net worth?

The nominee revealed to the committee that his assets are valued at KSh 276.8 million.

He revealed that he owns parcels of land, vehicles, shares in Safaricom, and livestock.

Ethekon also shared that he earns from his job and was awaiting a gratuity payout from the Turkana County government, where he served as the county attorney.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.

Source: TUKO.co.ke