Nairobi Court Stops Ruto's Move To Hire CASs
This followed a petition filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK)
Marvin Chege 
President William Ruto's plan to hire 21 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) in his government has been blocked by the Judiciary.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court on Wednesday, October 12 froze the Public Service Commission (PSC)'s recruitment drive seeking qualified candidates to fill the positions.
This followed a petition filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) which argued that the process was a waste of taxpayers' money and would lead to duplicate roles between the CASs and Principal Secretaries - who are 47 in total.
A signpost of the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kenya in Embu. /FACEBOOK
Justice Monica Mbaru ruled that the recruitment drive was suspended pending the hearing and determination of the case.
“In the interim, to allow service upon the respondent an order of stay of implementation of the process of establishment of the officer the Chief Administrative Secretary in the Public Service be and is hereby issued,” she ruled.
The matter was set for a hearing on Monday, October 24, as directed by the judge.
On the same day, the PSC invited those qualified for the post to apply, reducing fears that it would be scrapped by President Ruto's administration.
Beforehand, the public was notified on Wednesday, September 21 that the government decided to kick start the review process as its intention of creating the post after Uhuru's introduction of the posts was thrown out by the High Court in April 2021.
According to the PSC, CASs will be appointed through a vigorous competitive recruitment exercise that will culminate in being nominated by the President and vetted by the National Assembly.
In April 2021, High Court Judge Antony Mrima declared the position illegal noting that the law was not followed while being created. In addition, Cabinet Secretaries who continued to serve office without being vetted in 2017 were deemed to be in office illegally.
Uhuru at the time explained that those who would be holding the CAS role would be responsible for helping the Cabinet Secretaries to better coordinate affairs in their respective ministries.
"I have decided to establish a new position in government, the position of Chief Administrative Secretary in all our ministries,” Uhuru stated at the time.
The CAS was simply likened to an assistant minister as per the previous Constitution but was not defined in the 2010 Constitution.
Public Service Commission (PSC) offices in Nairobi. /FILE
