• Labour court issues temporary orders following application challenging recruitment as not transparent, lacking public participation and being unconstitutional
• The application said requiring 15 years of experience was illegal.
Image: FILE
A judge yesterday suspended the recruitment of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission's CEO.
Labor court judge Hellen Wasilwa issued temporary orders following an application by Henry Mutundu who successfully challenged the process of recruitment citing lack of transparency.
Mutundu called the current recruitment process unconstitutional and said it is not open, transparent and accountable as required by the Constitution.
As the IEBC is a constitutional commission, it must uphold the highest standards in its operations, which include fidelity to the law, he said.
The commission announced the vacancy inviting members of the public to apply for the position of commission secretary (CEO) by the January 31 deadline. The position fell vacant after Ezra Chiloba was sent home.
Last year an internal audit implicated him in procurement and tender irregularities in which millions of shillings were lost.
“A vacancy has risen in the commission for the position of Commission Secretary/Chief Executive Officer. Applications are therefore invited for the position of CEO,” the agency had said in its announcement.
But Mutundu says this announcement was not done properly.
For example, he said, the vacancy notice said candidates must have 15 years experience, which is contrary to the IEBC Act that requires a minimum of five years experience. Hence, he said, the increase in number of years of experience is illegal.
This is because that requirement alone locks out many Kenyans who would have been qualified for the position of the commission CEO.
The electoral agency is also accused of not taking any steps to ensure there is public participation and instead opting to conduct the process in total secrecy.
Even after expiry of the application deadline, the IEBC never published the total number of people who had or even gave their names, he said.
Mutundu also said another glaring mistake is the requirement for the candidates to go through security clearance by the National Intelligence Service. He called this a violation of the Constitution as it violates the right to privacy.
“The security clearnace of the applicants is contrary to the provisions of the National Intelligence Service Act, since security clearance as provided for in Sections 2 and 17 of the NIS Act relates to members applying to join the service but does not relate to members of public, as those seeking to be CEO of 2nd respondent (IEBC),” the suit papers read.
The commission secretary serves as the head of IEBC’s secretariat and is also the accounting officer, hence, the recruitment to such a position ought to be in strict adherence to the Constitution and law, Mutundu said.
The position of CEO is underpinned by specific statutory provisions and it is a high position of trust meant to advance electoral democracy, hence, the process of recruiting the holder of such an office should be beyond reproach, the court was told.