A meeting planned by Jubilee MPs to convince retired Anglican Archbishop Eliud Wabukala to take up an electoral job has flopped.
Only Lugari MP Ayub Savula turned up for the meeting at Mr Wabukala’s home in Sirisia constituency, Bungoma County making it impossible for the anticipated discussions to take off as earlier planned.
Several MPs including Benjamin Washiali (Mumias East), Boniface Otsula (Bumula), John Waluke (Sirisia), Emanuel Wangwe (Navakholo), and Bernard Shinali (Shinyalu) were among those expected at the meeting.
Earlier, the cleric sought to distance himself from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission debate, saying he had not been consulted by the legislators who had been pushing for his appointment as the commission’s chairman.
“I am at peace serving God,” Wabukala told journalists last week. He could not be reached yesterday to comment on the latest development.
Jubilee lawmakers led by Moses Kuria (Gatundu South) had implored Wabukala to accept to lead the commission job, saying the move would win the electorate confidence in the outcome of next year’s polls.
“As Jubilee, we want the job of managing the electoral process to be in the hands of religious leaders to avoid disputes and controversies that erupt due to mistrust,” said Mr Kuria during a fund-raiser at Pan Paper grounds in Lugari last week.
However, the suggestion has been dismissed as cheap politics.
Lawyer Ekuru Aukot, who helped to draft the Constitution, told politicians not to politicise reforms at Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) but instead allow the law to take its course.
Dr Aukot argued that MPs suggesting that Wabukala should be appointed the IEBC chairman were ignorant of the law.
“The law that created IEBC clearly stipulates how its chairman and other commissioners are sourced, as well as other legal requirements,” he said.
Source-standardmedia.co.ke
Jubilee MPs meeting with Wabukala fails to take off
