• The Media Council will halt the interviews of board members and chair who were shortlisted on Wednesday.
• Joe Mucheru had illegally purported to conduct second recruitment against the legal provisions and without mandatory involvement of them as well as public participation.
A court has stopped the Media Council of Kenya from conducting the second recruitment of the chairperson and board members until a case by Cofek is concluded.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court told MCK and ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru to suspend the interviews for the hopefuls shortlisted on Wednesday.
Cofek said Mucheru had illegally purported to conduct the recruitment against the legal provisions and without mandatory involvement of them as well as public participation.
“The 1st respondent's (ICT CS) actions are capricious, unlawful, illegal, irrational, unreasonable and offend the constitution and the law hereof,” a court document said.
In the suit, Cofek through lawyer Henry Kurauka faulted the exercise that started on January 25, saying that the CS is hiding behind a non-existent selection panel to discriminate against Cofek.
He also said the purported re-advertisement, for purported second interviews, some of the best-rated candidates interviewed in the legitimate first interview either did not reapply or were not shortlisted.
The interviews for selecting the members for the position of the council's chairperson were slated for August 12.
Eight candidates had applied for the position of board chairperson.
Thirty-three candidates applied for the position of board members whose interviews were slated for August 13 and 14.
All the candidates were expected to appear before the interview panel at the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology offices at Teleposta Towers.
The ICT CS and the Attorney General have been named as respondents while the MCK - a parastatal - has been named as the first interested party.