- The orders by Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge Ocharo Kebira were sought by activist Lawrence Oyugi.
- In a petition dated March 25, Oyugi alleged that the board chairperson and members were illegally appointed.
Hearing on Nairobi public service board removal set for April 8
Image: FILE
A case seeking to remove the entire Nairobi City County Public Service Board will be heard on April 8, 2024.
The orders by Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge Ocharo Kebira were sought by activist Lawrence Oyugi.
In a petition dated March 25, Oyugi alleged that the board chairperson and members were illegally appointed.
He emphasised that the entire service board was selected irregularly, without public participation and in violation of the law, warranting its removal.
Filed under a certificate of urgency, Oyugi argued that the recruitment lacked competitiveness, with vacancies not advertised in the newspapers.
"The recruitment of the board members was not competitive as the vacancies were not advertised in the local newspapers, long listing and short listing of candidates was not conducted,” his petition reads in part.
He claimed that only the board chairperson's name was submitted to the County Assembly.
In what he termed as "a surprise turn of events", he claimed that the Assembly report approving the board membership contained names of the other nominees for members of the board.
He stated that the recruitment process lacked open approval hearing sessions.
He said a majority of interested applicants were locked out of the exercise due to failure to ensure inclusivity and equality in shortlisting candidates for interviews.
Oyugi contended that the respondents failed to agree to the law, inviting the court to rectify the alleged violations by annulling the appointments.
He also requested the court to compel the City County public service board, the county government and the county assembly to advertise the vacant positions.
The activist also sought orders suspending the implementation of the decision by the county, its assembly and the board in appointing the members.
Respondents named in the case include the Nairobi City County Public Service Board, Nairobi City County Government, Nairobi City County Assembly and six individuals.
Following the petition's determination, Justice Kebira instructed Oyugi to serve the documents to the respondents and set the hearing date.