The lack of a functional Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has led to a leadership crisis in some parts of the country.
Certain counties, constituencies, and wards currently lack representation in their respective legislative bodies as by-elections have been delayed due to the lack of a quorum in the IEBC.
At least 14 electoral areas require by-elections for members of the National Assembly, including seven ward seats left vacant due to the deaths of Members of County Assemblies (MCAs).
Other vacancies have arisen from President William Ruto appointing elected leaders to his cabinet and the nullification of elections.
Since the 2022 general elections, Kenya has lost eight MCAs, two Members of Parliament (MPs), and a Senator.
The Constitution dictates that whenever a vacancy occurs in an electoral area, a by-election should be held within 90 days.
IEBC Delay Causes Leadership Crisis 12 Regions
Baringo (Senator)
Baringo Senator William Cheptumo died on February 16, 2025, while undergoing treatment at Nairobi Hospital, Senate Speaker Amason Kingi announced.
Cheptumo was serving his first term as a Senator after trouncing KANU’s Gideon Moi in the 2022 General Elections.
Malava MP
Malava Member of Parliament Moses Malulu Injendi died on February 16, 2025, while undergoing treatment at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, according to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula.
Injendi, who was serving his third term as MP, was also the vice chairperson of the National Assembly Committee on Education and Research.
Siaya
The Ugunja MP seat was left vacant after James Opiyo Wandayi resigned while serving his third consecutive term as the Member of Parliament for Ugunja Constituency.
Opiyo was nominated by President Ruto as the Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum on 23rd July 2024.
He was formally sworn in as Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum on August 8, 2024.
Also Read: Salaries, Allowances & Benefits of IEBC Chairperson and Commissioners
Mandera
It is nearly more than two years since the death of Banisa Member of Parliament in Mandera County Hassan Kulo who was killed in a road accident.
The second-term lawmaker died in March 2024 while undergoing treatment at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi.
He succumbed to his injuries while in the hospital’s ICU after being involved in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident near Capital Centre in South B, Nairobi, in March 25.
In April 2024, National Assembly Moses Wetangula declared a vacancy in the Banissa constituency seat, paving the way for a by-election
Kilifi
The Supreme Court on May 31, 2024, upheld the nullification of the election of Magarini MP Harrison Garama Kombe.
A five-judge bench of the apex court ruled that Stanely Kenga Karisa had met the burden of proof and established that the Constitution and the Electoral Act had not been complied with as ruled by the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Kenga, a former deputy speaker of the Kilifi County Assembly, contested the seat on President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket and garnered 11,925 votes against Kombe’s 11,946 (ODM), a difference of 21 votes.
Machakos
Mumbuni North Ward MCA, Machakos Gideon Kavuu died in August 2023 after he complained of body weakness and was rushed to a private hospital in Machakos town, where he was pronounced dead.
Kavuu served in the first Assembly between 2013 and 2017 before losing his seat to Paul Museku of Wiper party.
However, he made a comeback in 2022 and reclaimed his seat on a Maendeleo Chap Chap party ticket.
Nyamira
Nyamira County Assembly Majority Leader Elijah Osiemo died in a grisly road accident at the Maai Mahiu Escarpment along the Maai Mahiu-Naivasha highway in August 2023.
Osiemo, who was also MCA for Nyamaiya Ward, was in the company of his deputy and Nyamira Township MCA Duke Masira and nominated MCA Priscilla Nyatichi when the accident that involved their vehicle and a motorcycle occurred.
Turkana
Lakezone Ward MCA Michael Egialan Ekwar from Turkana County died in November 2023 after battling esophageal cancer for more than a year.
Egialan served as a first-term MCA in the County Assembly of Turkana after being elected on a UDA ticket.
Also Read: Nelson Makanda: Meet Pastor and Vice Chancellor Elected IEBC Selection Panel Chairperson
Narok
Narok town MCA Lucas Ole Kudate died in February 2024.
The first-time MCA who was elected on an ODM ticket had been ailing for a long time.
Before being elected in the position of MCA, the late Kudate served as the Narok township senior Chief.
Samburu
Paul Leshimpiro, Angata Nanyekie ward MCA in Samburu County was killed in February 2024.
Leshimpiro, was shot dead by suspected bandits while heading to his Morijo home.
The MCA was coming from Maralal town when he was accosted at around 11.00 am.
Tana River
Chewani MCA, Hamisi Iddi Deye, from Tana River County, died in an accident in June 2023 after the saloon car he was traveling in collided with a stationary lorry in the Kurawa area of Adu Ward, Magarini Sub-County, Kilifi County.
Wajir
Members of Dela Ward have been lacking representation after their MCA, Yussuf Hussein Ahmed, went missing more than six months ago.
He is said to have been abducted on September 13, 2024, along Enterprise Road in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.
A month after his disappearance, a body was retrieved from Lake Yahud, which was believed to be the missing MCA. Family members and locals flocked the morgue to identify the body, which had been badly tortured and decomposed.
However, two independent DNA tests later determined that the body was not that of the MCA.
The commission has been without commissioners since the exit of former Chairman, the late Wafula Chebukati and commissioners Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye, whose tenures ended in January 2023.
Four others—Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi, Justus Nyang’aya, and Irene Masit—were removed from office following their dissent against the 2022 presidential election results.
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