The High Court Monday rendered 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) appointed by President William Ruto jobless.
In a judgment, Justices Kanyi Kimondo and Ali Visram who were on the majority side revoked a notification by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei appointing the 50 individuals to office.
The three-judge bench found that the law was not complied with in the establishment of the said office.
Justices Kimondo and Visram said it was not the intention of the framers of the constitution to have 50 CASs deputise 22 Cabinet Secretaries.
Justice Hedwig Ong’undi however dissented with the decision terming the office unconstitutional.
The bench agreed with the petitioners in the case that there was no public participation in regard to the additional 27 posts.
“The sequence and procedure leading to the additional 27 posts did not adhere to public participation.
The process didn’t meet the threshold,” the bench ruled.
While noting that the position was abolished last year, the court said; “Once that office was abolished on 21 September 2022, the newly-created office and complement of 23 office holders could no longer benefit from that stay.”
“The newly-created office and fresh complement of 50 had to comply with the constitution and the criteria set out earlier in Okiyah’s case in order to be lawfully established.
They did not comply. The entire complement of 50 CAS is therefore unconstitutional,” the court ruled.
The court ruled the creation of the additional 27 CAS did not adhere to the constitutional requirement of public participation and quashed the appointment of all 50 CAS as unconstitutional.
“Whereas there was some reasonable public participation on the first complement of 23 CASs, there was no such participation regarding the additional 27 CAS,” read the ruling, adding, “The entire complement of the 50 CAS is unconstitutional.”
On March 24, Justice Ongúdi granted Conservatory Orders barring CAS from assuming or continuing to act as Chief Administrative Secretary until the Hearing of a case by the Law Society of Kenya and the Katiba Institute.
