Nderitu rejects claims of bias, says she doesn't consult anyone when registering political parties

IEBC commissioner nominee Anne Nderitu has defended the independence of her office, saying political party registration is guided strictly by the law, not outside influence.

Appearing before the National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, Nderitu said her office follows the Political Parties Act and does not consult anyone when deciding whether to register a party.

"Registering a political party is governed by the law, and the Political Parties Act is very clear about which processes and steps to follow. At no point do we consult anybody about how we register a political party or not," she told the committee.

Nderitu said the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties is an independent state office, and since she took office in 2018, it has upheld that independence.

"We have, to the largest extent, seriously maintained that independence," she said.

She noted that since 2018, 34 political parties have been registered, and more continue to apply.

“Sometimes we are even challenged that we are registering too many political parties, but we maintain that Kenya is a multiparty democracy,” she said. “As far as a person is meeting the required legal framework, then he should be allowed to register a political party.”

Nderitu addressed recent public claims about the registration of a party allegedly linked to an impeached deputy president, Rigathi Gachagua, saying the office registered only the officials who presented themselves.

“We registered with officials who presented themselves. Whether he came to join any—that’s another story altogether,” she said.

Nderitu also dismissed claims of bias and defended the decision-making process of her office, saying disagreements are expected, especially in politically charged matters.

“We are not biased. We have worked beyond reports. It’s about to happen in any institution where decisions are made, somebody may express that they’re not happy with the decision,” she said.

Nderitu added that there is a clear legal path for those who disagree with her office’s decisions.

“The appeal mechanism in this country—if somebody is disarmed with a decision—he’s able to take it to the next level of dispute resolution,” she said.

During the vetting, Nderitu also declared that her net worth stands at Sh138 million. She said the wealth comes from real estate, vehicles, dairy farming, salary, dividends, and a logistics business.

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