NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 11 \u2013 The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has fined Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia Sh1.5 million and ordered her to issue a public apology within 72 hours over remarks deemed to constitute hate speech and incitement during campaigns for the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.<\/p>\n
The decision was delivered by the IEBC Electoral Code of Conduct Enforcement Committee after reviewing statements made by the legislator at a political rally held on June 14, 2026, while campaigning for Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) candidate Sammy Kamau Ngotho.<\/p>\n
According to the committee, Muhia\u2019s remarks violated the Electoral Code of Conduct by allegedly inciting residents against people considered non-indigenous to the constituency.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a press briefing in Nairobi, Committee Chairperson Moses Alutalala Mukhwana said the commission had resolved to impose financial penalties and corrective measures against the lawmaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe committee condemns and directs the Honourable Wanjiku Muhia to pay a fine of Kenya Shillings 1.5 million to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission within 72 hours of reading of this judgment,\u201d Mukhwana said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe IEBC further directs the Honourable Wanjiku Muhia to tender a public apology in respect of those utterances that appeared to incite residents of Ol Kalou against those who are not original inhabitants of the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ruling followed a heated disciplinary process that saw Muhia\u2019s legal team walk out of an earlier hearing, arguing that the composition of the committee raised concerns over procedural fairness.<\/p>\n
Her lawyers later challenged the commission\u2019s jurisdiction to hear the matter, but the IEBC dismissed the objection and proceeded with the case before reserving its judgment.<\/p>\n
Mukhwana warned that failure to comply with the committee\u2019s directives could expose the legislator to tougher sanctions under electoral laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cFailure to comply with the orders issued herein or any subsequent violation of the Electoral Code of Conduct shall attract further sanctions as provided for under the Elections Act and the Electoral Code of Conduct, including but not limited to an order barring her from contesting in any further election conducted by the IEBC,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The electoral agency said the sanctions demonstrate its commitment to enforcing campaign rules and preventing inflammatory rhetoric that could fuel tensions during the high-stakes by-election.<\/p>\n
The Ol Kalou parliamentary contest was triggered by the death of area MP David Njuguna Kiaraho in March and has emerged as one of the country\u2019s most closely watched political battles ahead of the 2027 General Election.<\/p>\n
The seat has attracted intense competition, with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) backing Muchina Nyaga, while the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) has fielded Sammy Kamau Ngotho and the Jubilee Party has nominated Engineer Wilson Kigwa.<\/p>\n
The commission reiterated that political leaders have a responsibility to promote peaceful campaigns and national cohesion.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet this decision serve as a stern and unyielding warning to all political actors across Kenya that if you choose the path of incitement, the law will remove you from the ballot long before the voters do,\u201d Mukhwana said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny conduct that departs from these principles will not be acceptable.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 11 \u2013 The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has fined Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia Sh1.5 million and ordered her to issue a public apology within 72 hours over remarks deemed to constitute hate speech and incitement during campaigns for the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election. The decision was delivered by the IEBC […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146420\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}