Ruto Obeys Court Orders As MPs Suspend Vetting Of PS Nominees

Justice Nzioki Makau issued the orders on Tuesday, November 15 suspending the vetting exercise...

Marvin Chege Marvin Chege
Nov 16, 2022 - 09:52 Updated: Nov 16, 2022 - 09:52
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Ruto Obeys Court Orders As MPs Suspend Vetting Of PS Nominees
Speaker Moses Wetangula addressing the National Assembly. /FILE

National Assembly speaker, Moses Wetangula on Wednesday, November 16 suspended the vetting of Principal Secretaries (PS) who were nominated by President William Ruto.

In a response to court orders by the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC), Wetangula noted that Parliament had agreed to comply with the orders, thus suspending the exercise until further notice.

He also barred Departmental Committees which had already concluded the vetting process and approval hearings from conducting any activity relating to reporting to the House on the proceedings, until further notice as well.

From left: PS nominees Nixon Korir, Teresia Mbaika, Raymond Omollo, and Julius Bitok. /DAILY NATION

"That I have directed our Litigation Counsel to move the concerned courts to set aside the ex-parte orders based on various legal grounds. Thereafter the proceedings will resume subject to the directions of the court," the response read in part.

Justice Nzioki Makau issued the orders on Tuesday, November 15 suspending the vetting exercise pending the hearing and determination of the application set for Monday, November 21.

The petition filed by activist Fredrick Bikeri alleged that the selection of 51 persons by President Ruto for vetting and approval by parliament as PSs lacked inclusivity and regional balance.

“The said list of persons appointed to the rank of Principal Secretaries does not reflect nor ensure gender balance, regional balance, tribal balance, inclusivity of the marginalized, contrary to the tenets of good governance as demanded by Articles 10, 54, 55, 56 and 57 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010,” states the certificate of urgency filed by Bikeri.

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) also challenged the list of nominees, with its President, Eric Theuri, initially announcing that he contracted a team of lawyers to look into Ruto's nomination of 51 PSs on grounds of gender and regional inclusion.

“On the impugned list of 51, 13 are Kalenjin from Rift Valley, 13 from Central Kenya which is to the detriment of the other 40 tribes and communities in Kenya,” court documents indicated.

Despite the conservatory orders secured by LSK, various departmental committees in Parliament had already vetted the PS nominees with the Committee on Defence and Blue Economy and Fisheries among those that sat to evaluate their suitability.

Chairperson of the Committee on Defence, Nelson Koech argued that the committee was not served any letter that temporarily stopped the process, thus it was justified to continue the vetting.

In the PS nominees list, 12 women made the cut, making up 23.5 per cent of the total of 51. The PS is one of the state's key top public servants, helping Cabinet Secretaries in delivering government services to Kenyans.

One of the women, Caroline Nyawira, withdrew her candidature for the Principal Secretary for the State Department of Correctional Services. President Ruto replaced her with Mary Muthoni in the capacity, adding that the decision to have Nyawira replaced was informed by her expression of disinterest in participating in the process.

Among those vetted so far include (with 20 remainings):

  1. Dr Korir Sing’oei (Foreign Affairs)
  2. Dr Paul Ronoh (Water and Sanitation)
  3. Chris Kiptoo (National Treasury)
  4. Julius Korir (Cabinet Affairs)
  5. Prof Julius Bitok (Citizen Services)
  6. Aurelia Rono (Parliamentary Affairs)
  7. Harry Kimutai (Livestock Development
  8. Peter Tum (Medical Services)
  9. Abdi Dubart (East African Community)
  10. Patrick Mariro (Defence)
  11. Betsy Muthoni Njagi (Blue Economy and Fisheries)
  12. Roseline Njogu (Diaspora Affairs)
  13. Gitonga Mugambi (Irrigation)
  14. Patrick Kiburi Kilemi (Cooperatives)
  15. Dr Josephine Mburu (Health Standards and Professional Management)
  16. James Muhati (Economic Planning)
  17. Esther Ngero (Performance and Delivery Management)
  18. Alfred K’Ombundo (Trade)
  19. Raymond Omollo (Interior and National Administration)
  20. Abubakar Hassan (Investment Promotion),
  21. Juma Mukhwana (Industry)

An image of a joint Senate and National Assembly in Parliament. /FILE

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