High Court judge Patrick J.O Otieno has ruled that the Meru County Assembly broke the law in recruiting the Assembly clerk Jacob Kirari when it did not follow the public participation rule.
“Having made this declaration, and in order to avoid a void on the board, I grant the second respondent (Meru Assembly) 60 days from today to correct the violation. The board will be dissolved if it is not reconstituted by December 21 to comply with the gender equity rule,” the judge said.
The composition of the Assembly Service Board as of February 21, 2020, did not comply with the gender equity rule, according to Justice Otieno.
He also stated that the Kirari appointment approval hearings were conducted without the required public participation.
Kirari and Earnest Kimaita were the first and second interested parties, respectively, in Ken Muriuki’s petition against the Meru County Assembly Service Board and Meru County Assembly.
Muriuki’s lawyer, Kaumbi Kioga, said the ruling had set a precedent in Kenya, both in the county and national governments.
Mr Kioga stated that despite the fact that the Constitution had been in place for 11 years, many people believed that public institutions were not adhering to the Constitution’s various provisions.
He explained that those in charge of hiring were only exercising powers granted by the public, and that public participation was required at all times to ensure that they were aware of who had been shortlisted.
Muriuki sought orders declaring that the Meru County Assembly Service Board’s composition was in violation of the Constitution in his petition dated September 3, 2020. As a result, any of its activities, including Mr Karari’s appointment as Clerk, were in violation of various legal provisions.
During the time when Kirari was hired, Muriuki, the chairman of the Meru Bar Association, argued that the service board had only five members, one of whom was a woman.
With the then-Clerk Justus Ariithi set to retire on July 30, 2019, the board shortlisted seven candidates for interviews.
Kirari, Kimaita, Jenaro Guantai, Justin Majau, Ibrahim Muteire, Stephen Kithieka, and Johnson Gitobu were the names of the players.
Speaker Joseph Kaberia, on the other hand, insisted that the board was properly constituted at the time of the recruitment process, citing Section 12 of the County Governments Act.
Kaberia urged the court to think about the consequences of voiding the appointment. He predicted that it would have an impact on other appointments made by the board while it was similarly constituted.
