Wafula Chebukati was popularly known as a lawyer before his tenure at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and a member of the Orange Democratic Movement which he also attempted to vie for a parliamentary seat in Saboti Constituency in 2007. He was then later appointed as the chairperson of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission in February 2027 by the former president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta. Chebukati retired from his position in 2023 on February 17th after his term ended. This was after he oversaw the previous general elections in 2022 where he declared Dr William Ruto the president-elect.
Wafula Chebukati was a decorated lawyer in Nairobi for 37 years and also a politician. He was the founder of a partnership law firm COOTOW and Associates in 2006 where he spent the rest of the 20 years as a certified lawyer. He worked there for a while and resigned in January 2017 when he took on a role as a state officer to avoid conflict of interest which he was being accused of. He was accused of fronting his law firm for contracts in the IEBC where he was in charge.
Related: Ex-IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati critically ill
When Chebukati was appointed to the IEBC in January 2017 he resigned from the Orange Democratic Movement where he was a member. At the peak of his career, he managed to oversee three major elections in Kenya which were: the 2017 General Elections, the Presidential Election in October 2017 and lastly the general election in 2022.
He managed to become the first chairperson of the IEBC to complete the 6-year constitutional term for the IEBC chairman. His decorated career led to him being awarded the Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart (EGH) which is Kenya’s second highest award given to any civilian by the president to honour him for his contribution to this great nation and his wisdom and knowledge.
On February 17 2025 this former IEBC boss was admitted to a hospital in Nairobi where he was under the Intensive care unit for nearly a week with details of his illness remaining private from the public. His family members later confirmed that he died on Thursday night (20th February) . He was 64 years old at his time of passing.