Court temporarily halts doctors recruitment exercise in Kiambu county

Gavel

The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has temporarily halted the recruitment exercise of medical specialists by the Kiambu County Government, pending a full hearing on the legality of the process.

Justice Hellen Wasilwa, certified the matter as urgent and directed that it be heard inter partes on October 28, 2025.

"The application is certifed urgent allowed in terms of the prayers of the NOM . This application should be served upon the Respondents and be heard inter partes on the 28th October 2025," she ruled.

The order effectively suspends the ongoing recruitment under the Department of Health Services in Kiambu County until the court determines whether the process was conducted lawfully.

The petition was filed by Doctor Gathoni Njeri Muriithi, an obstetrician and gynecologist, against the County Government of Kiambu and the County Public Service Board.

The petitioner, through her lawyer Henry Kurauka, argues that her constitutional rights were infringed describing the recruitment exercise as opaque.

According to court documents, Muriithi says she applied for the advertised position on October 15, 2025, which was the stated deadline, but later discovered that the county had already shortlisted and interviewed candidates before the application window had closed.

She argued that there was an alleged violation the principles of fairness, equality, and transparency required under the Constitution and the County Governments Act.

The petitioner said she confirmed from the county’s official website that shortlisted candidates had been published and members of the public were invited to submit feedback by October 10, five days before the deadline for applications expired.

Muriithi further told the court that the closure of the process denied her and others who met the deadline a fair chance to compete for the advertised positions.

“The respondents acted capriciously and unreasonably, contrary to Articles 27 and 41 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality, fair labour practices, and freedom from discrimination,” her petition states in part.

In her plea to the court, the Petitioner is seeking several remedies, among them a declaration that the county violated her rights under the Constitution.

She further seeks a conservatory order stopping the county government from proceeding with the recruitment of medical specialists in breach of their own advertisement and labour laws

She asks for a mandatory injunction compelling the County Public Service Board to grant her and other qualified applicants who met the deadline an opportunity to be interviewed.

The specialist also seeks an injunction restraining the respondents from dismissing current medical specialists in the health department unlawfully, and an order for the county to bear the costs of the petition.

The case will come up for hearing on October 28, 2025.