Francis Wanderi has resigned from his position as a commissioner for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Wanderi has claimed that his resignation has become necessary because the outcome of their probing is already predetermined.
“This decision, while extremely difficult and agonizing for myself and my family, has been necessitated by undue and unwarranted public lynching based on falsified information tainting my reputation and integrity,” said Wanderi.
Wanderi said that he is innocent of the accusations that have been brought against him and his other three colleagues and that he had worked to protect the constitution during his 16-month service at the IEBC.
“As I tender my resignation today, I do so not because I am guilty of the allegations levelled against me by the petitioners, but because there comes a time when the country is more important than any individual,” he said.
Wanderi announced his resignation on Thursday morning, a day after the Azimio la Umoja coalition that has been backing the embattled Cherera Four commissioners called for the reinstatement if vice chairperson Juliana Cherera.
Wanderi now becomes the third commissioner to resign from the IEBC. The first was Justus Nyang’aya who was followed by Juliana Cherera.
The Cherera Four have been under a removal process that has seen the formation of a tribunal to probe them. The tribunal is headed by Justice Muchelule and was formed following the recommendation of the National Assembly.
The Cherera Four have been accused of making attempts to alter the outcome of the August 9 presidential election. They have also been accused of attempting to force current IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati to twist the presidential results in a manner that would have seen no candidate attain the constitutional threshold of 50+1 and thereby call for a run off.
