Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Vice Chair Lilian Bokeeye Mahiri-Zaja has been shortlisted for the position of Chairperson of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
Mahiri-Zaja, who served as IEBC Vice Chair during the 2013 General Election, is among 16 candidates selected by the panel to undergo public interviews for the state job.
The list published on Tuesday, May 26, also includes former IEBC Commissioner Thomas Letangule.
Letangule served alongside Mahiri-Zaja at the electoral body until the commission resigned en masse in late 2016 following political pressure from the opposition.
“After considering the applications, the Selection Panel shortlisted Sixteen (16) candidates for the position of Chairperson to appear for interviews,” read part of the notice on Tuesday, May 26.
Also on the list is Duncan Ojwang Oburu, who was nominated in 2025 by President William Ruto as Chairperson of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
However, his nomination was later rejected after lobby groups raised concerns, arguing that it violated constitutional provisions on gender balance since the then vice chair of the commission was also male.
Ojwang subsequently declined the nomination.
He was later sworn in as a member of the technical team under the expert panel tasked with handling compensation for victims of protests, a team also appointed by the Head of State.
Oburu has also served in the technical team that prepared the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report.
The list further includes other prominent names, including Legal advocate Demas Tuikong Kiprono and former Homa Bay County Assembly Speaker Elizabeth Atieno Ayoo, who have also made the final shortlist.
Whoever is recommended by the selection panel will be forwarded for appointment by the President to take over leadership of IPOA, whose chairperson position fell vacant following the resignation of former IEBC chair Isaack Hassan. Hassan resigned following his appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal-Kenyans.co.ke.
