The High court has temporarily suspended a decision by the state extending the terms of office of prisons commissioner general Isaiah Osugo and North Eastern prisons officer Tawane Gudal.
Justice Nelson Abuodha of the Employment and Labour Relations court said the orders stopping the extension of tenure of the two officers will remain in force until August 8 when the case will be heard.
The judge issued the orders following an application by activist Okiya Omtatah who told the court that allowing the senior prison officers to continue serving in the public service beyond their mandatory retirement age of 60 is illegal.
"I am inviting this court to intervene and determine the constitutional and legal validity of the impugned extension of service for the two," Omtatah said in an affidavit.
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The State Department for Correctional Services PS Micah Pkopus is said to have communicated the decision to the two in a letter dated July 30.
In his suit, Omtatah faults the head of the Public Service, Interior CS, Public Service Commission and the Attorney General for retaining Osugo and Gudal despite having attained the retirement age.
"The decision is contrary to government policy that states that no civil servant should work past retirement age," Omtata argues.
The activist said he is aggrieved further that President Uhuru Kenyatta , who has no mandate to order PSC in the performance of its duties as an independent constitutional commission, sanctioned the directives.
He said by asking the court to nullify their irregular and unlawful extension, he seeks to prevent the government from violating the Constitution and other laws of Kenya.
Omtatah wants the court to issue orders declaring the extensions of service to be inconsistent with the Constitution and other laws of Kenya and, therefore, null and void .
Justice Abuodha directed him to serve the respondent with the suit papers ahead of hearing.