The chairperson of the Council of the Kenya School of Government Charles Nyachae has moved to explain why he resigned from the East African Court of Justice.
Nyachae, who is seeking to be the chair of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, said he resigned because he wanted to be fair to the people of the East African Community.
Appearing before the Selection Panel responsible for the recruitment of nominees for the positions of chairperson and members of IEBC, Nyachae explained that the court hardly executed its mandate due to financial constraints.
He noted that the court has been struggling financially in the last few years to the point of becoming dysfunctional.
“As each session was approached, it was cancelled because of financial issues. When this happened practically in the whole of 2023, I said to myself, I am not being fair to the people of East Africa since all this time, every month, I earned US$2,000 (Sh280 000) for doing nothing,” he stated.
The chair of the selection panel Nelson Makanda had asked Nyachae if he would resign as IEBC chair along the way.
“You resigned from a judicial position that does not have similar pressure as this. Are we going to have our chair resign before the end of the day?” he posed.
Nyachae told the panel he resigned from the position after thinking about it for a long time.
“I thought long and decided that I was not adding value to the people of East Africa by remaining in a court which is hardly operating,” he stated.
Nyachae was quick to point out that he does not foresee a situation where IEBC will be faced with a similar situation.
“I do not anticipate those problems if I get to become the chair of the commission. I do not foresee a day when the commission will grind to zero. They may be budget cuts but I believe they will only affect parts of the commission’s mandate,” he added.
Nyachae is among 11 candidates who were shortlisted for the position to fill the vacancy left following the end of the tenure of the late IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati.
The others include; former Judiciary Chief Registrar Anne Amadi, Abdulqadir Lorot Ramadhan, Joy Mdivo, Edward Katama Ngeywa, Erastus Edung Ethekon, Francis Kakai Kissinger, Jacob Ngwele Muvengei, Lilian Wanjiku Manegene, Robert Akumu Asembo, and Saul Simiyu Wasilwa.
