Come, let’s sit down.

This is July, the cold­est month in Kenya. In my home­land of Ukam­bani, we call it Ng’athamba Uni. It means “I will show­er tomor­row.” The cold was so intense that even bathing could be post­poned. But even in that chill, life went on. Wis­dom was shared around smoky fires. Choic­es were made care­ful­ly, not in haste.

Today, around this fire, I wel­come the sev­en of you. You are the new­ly sworn team of Kenya’s Inde­pen­dent Elec­toral and Bound­aries Com­mis­sion. The court has cleared the way. The oath has been tak­en. And now, I name you The Seed Com­mis­sion. Plant­ed in trust, watched by his­to­ry. What you nur­ture will shape the soil of our democ­ra­cy. But the sea­son is short.

I have expe­ri­enced this jour­ney. In 1988, while prepar­ing to become an accoun­tant, I was a stu­dent leader at Maa­sai Tech­ni­cal Insti­tute dur­ing the infa­mous Mlo­lon­go elec­tions. We lined up pub­licly to vote, exposed and afraid. Democ­ra­cy felt like just a show. In 1992, as Kenya held its first mul­ti-par­ty elec­tions, rig­ging and eth­nic vio­lence fol­lowed. Hope was born, but blood was also shed. In 1997, my close friends ran for office. One won with pride, while anoth­er was open­ly robbed. I saw first­hand how elec­tions could both uplift and destroy. Then, in 2002, I pre­pared to run for the Kitui Cen­tral seat against my big sis­ter Hon. Char­i­ty Ngilu. Not for fame, but from a gen­uine desire to improve lives. I lost with a thun­der­ous bang, but the sights and sounds of that sea­son remain etched in my memory.

So, when I speak to you today, I do not do so as a crit­ic. I speak as some­one who has endured Kenya’s elec­toral fire.

The sit­u­a­tion ahead is dire. The com­mis­sion has­n’t been ful­ly func­tion­ing for over a year. No by-elec­tions have occurred, and six­teen elec­toral  areas  still lack rep­re­sen­ta­tion. Funds have been set aside for the pend­ing elec­tions, but two new con­stituen­cies remain on hold until the bud­get is ful­ly secured.

Then comes the con­sti­tu­tion­al dead­line: a manda­to­ry review of elec­toral bound­aries must be com­plet­ed by Feb­ru­ary 7, 2027. Accord­ing to Arti­cle 89(2) of the Con­sti­tu­tion, this review should occur every eight to twelve years and must be fin­ished at least a year before the Gen­er­al Elec­tion. The last review was due by July 2021. I’m sure you know that you are already behind.

The tech­nol­o­gy you depend on is also aging. The Bio­met­ric Vot­er Reg­is­tra­tion kits pur­chased in 2012 and the KIEMS kits acquired in 2017 are near­ing the end of their sup­port­ed lifes­pans. Although 14,100 new kits were report­ed pur­chased in 2022, many remain unused, and train­ing on their soft­ware has stalled due to a lack of fund­ing. Con­tin­u­ous vot­er reg­is­tra­tion has also been halt­ed because there are no commissioners.

More urgent than tech­nol­o­gy or dead­lines is trust. Kenyans still see elec­tions as scary. Since 2007, elec­tion sea­sons have cost us lives, jobs, and uni­ty. Vot­ing should be a cel­e­bra­tion of our sov­er­eign­ty. Instead, it often turns into a cycle of sus­pi­cion, vio­lence, and mourn­ing, which leads to vot­er apathy.

You now have a rare chance to rebuild trust. Start today. Improve vot­er edu­ca­tion. Recruit and train your team. Work with the Trea­sury and Par­lia­ment to get the nec­es­sary tools. The polit­i­cal class will chal­lenge your inde­pen­dence, offer­ing help with strings attached. Stay firm. Court orders are not opin­ions. The Con­sti­tu­tion is not a sug­ges­tion. Integri­ty remains your strongest shield.

Pres­i­dent Ruto has ful­filled his duty by appoint­ing you. Now, you must ful­fill yours. And to every Kenyan, espe­cial­ly our lead­ers, give this team space to do their work. Sup­port them. Chal­lenge them con­struc­tive­ly. But above all, pro­tect their independence.

The fire is almost out, but your duty is just begin­ning. This isn’t just a job; it’s a moment that can shape Kenya for gen­er­a­tions. May his­to­ry remem­ber you for your faith­ful ser­vice. Think green, act green!