Former EACC CEO Halakhe Waqo among 9 shortlisted for IEBC CEO job

📌 Key Takeaways

• Nine Finalists Shortlisted for IEBC CEO: Former Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) CEO Halakhe Waqo and NACADA CEO Dr. Anthony Omerikwa headline nine candidates shortlisted for Commission Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
• November 12–13 Vetting Schedule: Oral interviews will take place on November 12 and 13, 2026, with candidates required to present clearances from EACC, DCI, KRA, HELB, and a registered Credit Reference Bureau.
• Regional & Professional Diversity: The shortlist also includes Harley Mutisya (Makueni), Edmund Odiwuor Malitt (Homa Bay), Andrew Gitau Kimani (Nairobi), Mohamed Abdullahi Abdi (Wajir), Edward Katama Ngeywa (Trans Nzoia), Martina Wato Yattani (Marsabit), and Nelly Ilongo (Taita Taveta).
• Ending Interim Secretariat Leadership: The appointment under IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon will replace Acting CEO Ruth Kulundu—who succeeded Acting CEO Moses Ledama Sunkuli following Marjan Hussein Marjan’s departure—just nine months before the August 2027 General Election.

Why the IEBC Secretariat Chief Is the Linchpin of 2027 Electoral Credibility

While public debate often fixates on electoral commissioners, the IEBC Commission Secretary and Chief Executive Officer holds the actual operational keys to Kenya’s democracy: serving as the accounting officer responsible for multi-billion-shilling KIEMS kit procurement, ballot printing tenders, voter register audits, and results-transmission logistics. Having operated under two successive acting CEOs—Moses Ledama Sunkuli and Ruth Kulundu—since former CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan exited in February, the Secretariat urgently requires substantive leadership with less than a year remaining before the 2027 polls.

The presence of seasoned state administrators on the nine-person shortlist—including former EACC boss Halakhe Waqo and current NACADA Chief Executive Dr. Anthony Omerikwa—signals that Chairperson Erastus Ethekon’s commission is prioritising candidates with deep public-sector procurement and compliance experience across our Politics & Institutional Governance landscape.

Procurement Integrity & Diaspora Voter Registration Stakes

Yet given Kenya’s history of contested elections and Supreme Court scrutiny of Secretariat workflows, the November 12–13 interviews must go beyond paper clearances to test each candidate’s independence from executive and partisan interference, particularly as compressed election procurement timelines increase the temptation for single-sourced emergency tenders.

For millions of citizens in the Kenyan Diaspora Network, the incoming CEO’s immediate priorities will also determine whether the IEBC expands overseas voter registration and embassy polling stations in time for 2027 across Kenya’s Electoral Map.