The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has come under scrutiny from members of the National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee over Sh4.2 billion owed to law firms that handled cases for the electoral body over the years, with legislators calling for talks to agree on how the debts will be paid.
The outstanding legal fees are linked to court matters dating back to 2013. MPs said the commission must hold discussions with the affected law firms and work out an arrangement on settling the bills that have accumulated over time.
“We will need to have a discussion on some of these bills,” said Chairperson George Murugara.
The matter emerged during deliberations on the supplementary budget when the IEBC briefed the committee on its pending financial obligations. The commission reported that a review of its accounts had lowered the total outstanding bills from Sh5.6 billion to Sh4.9 billion.
Acting chief executive officer Moses Sunkuli told the committee that by January 19 the pending bills stood at Sh4,987,566,493. Of this amount, legal fees accounted for Sh4,273,853,019 while Sh713,713,473 related to unpaid goods and services.
He explained that before the internal and external audit process, the total pending bills had been estimated at Sh5.6 billion. The verification exercise led to a reduction of Sh402,500,727.
“The commission has since reconciled its outstanding pending bills, which mainly consist of legal fees and operational expenses from prior elections,” Mr Sunkuli told MPs.
Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse questioned the quick reduction of over Sh402 million from the legal fees, suggesting that further scrutiny might bring the figure down even more.
“Within two weeks, you have saved taxpayers Sh402 million. I urge that you be given more time to reduce this further,” Mr Mutuse said.
He also told the committee that law firms that have been waiting for payment since 2013 could continue to wait until the 2026/27 budget is approved.
“If someone has waited since 2013, they can wait until July,” he said.
The committee plans to hold a retreat with the IEBC later this month where the issue of unpaid legal fees and other pending bills dating back to 2013 will be discussed in detail.
Documents presented to the committee during consideration of the 2026/27 Budget Policy Statement show that accumulated general election legal costs between the 2022/23 and 2024/25 financial years had reached Sh5.6 billion.
Lawmakers questioned how such a large amount could be incurred outside an election period.
“Are you telling us that in one year you incurred legal fees of Sh3 billion and it is not an election year? We need to engage further on this,” Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo told the IEBC team last month.
The commission cautioned that failure to clear the outstanding payments could disrupt its work as preparations for the 2027 General Election gather pace.
“If these pending bills are not settled, they will increase in quantum and constrain operations, including the conduct of the 2027 General Election,” the commission told MPs.
IEBC also warned that long running court battles could cause the legal costs to rise further because some fees may be reviewed and taxed above the original amounts.
The Auditor-General’s report for the financial year ending June last year shows that the commission received Sh3.8 billion for recurrent spending and did not get funds for development.
During the same period, the IEBC reported earning Sh1.3 billion internally from the sale of voter registers, electoral maps and the leasing of ballot boxes.