A Bungoma court has extended orders barring the deployment or payment of recently recruited village administrators.
The 236 village administrators had a passing out parade last week. The ceremony was officiated by Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati in Syombe Bumula.
Judge Jemima Keli, while extending the order, said anybody who deploys or pays them will be held individually culpable. The village administrators will also be forced to reimburse the money.
Justice Keli ordered the petitioners to appear in court on December 15, 2021, at 10am for the hearing of the case.
The county, through its attorney, Cryl Wanyongo, asked the court to allow it to continue with the deployment plans and only stop the village units that had been raised in the petition.
But lawyer Brian Khaemba, representing the petitioners, objected, saying the entire process was a sham.
He said 29 applicants from Kimilili were not considered in the recruitment and a section of those who went through the three weeks training did not meet the required qualifications as was advertised in the newspaper.
“Not all the recruits that were selected to go through the training had qualified. Some were given chances on the basis of tribalism contrary to the Public Officer Ethics Act,” Khaemba said.
The petitioners argued that due process was not followed and that the entire process was marred with massive irregularities
"Due process was not followed when recruiting village administrators," the lawyer said.
Civil rights activist John Khaoya has also asked to be joined in the case.
The recruitment of village administrators has faced several legal tussles when it began.
Last year, civil society groups sued to stop the recruitment of the village administrators challenging its legality, but the petition was thrown out, giving the county the go-ahead to start the recruitment.
Barasa Nyukuri and Raphael Were of Torch Africa filed a petition at the Labour court in Kisumu seeking to stop the process. They said the move was unconstitutional.
Edited by A.N
