The High Court in Nairobi will on February 25, 2027 rule on a petition challenging the failure by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to undertake the constitutionally required review of constituency and ward boundaries ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The petition was filed by lawyer Philip Kipkemoi Langat, through his counsel Felix Keaton, who argues that the IEBC violated Article 89 of the Constitution by failing to conduct a fresh delimitation exercise within the prescribed eight to 12 year period.
Langat contends that the last boundary review was gazetted on March 6, 2012, through Legal Notice No. 14 of 2012, meaning that the next review ought to have been undertaken between March 6, 2020 and March 6, 2024.
The petitioner argues that no review was undertaken, completed or commenced during that period and has asked the court to intervene over what he describes as a continuing constitutional obligation.
Attorney General, Law Society of Kenya and Katiba Institute are named as interested parties. respondent.
In its submissions filed on September 15, Katiba Institute agrees with the petitioner on one central issue: that the review of constituency and ward boundaries under Article 89 is a mandatory constitutional duty.
However, the institute disagrees with the broader remedies sought by Langat, particularly any order that would stop the IEBC from conducting elections before the boundary review is completed.
Katiba Institute argues that although the constitutional deadline has lapsed, the existing constituencies and wards remain operative until they are lawfully reviewed and new boundaries brought into effect.
The institute has asked the court to declare that the IEBC failed to comply with Article 89 but reject attempts to suspend elections or declare future elections invalid because of the delayed review.
It instead wants the court to direct the IEBC to publish a compliance roadmap setting out the steps and timetable for undertaking the delimitation exercise and to report back to the court on its progress.
A key question before the court is whether the delayed boundary review should affect the August 10, 2027 General Election.
Katiba Institute argues that Article 89 requires a review to be completed at least 12 months before a parliamentary general election if the new boundaries are to apply to that election.
The institute therefore submits that the deadline for completing a review applicable to the 2027 election passed on August 10, 2026.
On that basis, it argues that a boundary review undertaken now could not lawfully take effect for the 2027 General Election.
The IEBC has acknowledged that the boundary review timeline has lapsed, while citing factors including vacancies in the commission, litigation concerning the 2019 census data and other legal and institutional constraints.
Langat, however, maintains that the expiry of the constitutional period does not extinguish the IEBC’s obligation.
Through his lawyer, he argues that constitutional duties cannot simply disappear because the deadline for performing them has passed.
He has urged the court to interpret the Constitution in a manner that promotes accountability and ensures that the IEBC performs its mandate under Article 89.
Katiba Institute has urged the court to avoid what it describes as two extremes ,dismissing the petition without addressing the constitutional violation, or halting elections and creating disruption to the electoral cycle.
The institute has proposed declaratory and supervisory orders instead.
It wants the court to affirm that delimitation is mandatory, declare the failure to complete the exercise within the constitutional period inconsistent with Article 89, and direct the IEBC to prepare a public compliance roadmap.
It has also asked the court to retain supervisory jurisdiction so that the commission can periodically account for the steps it takes towards completing the review.
