Court of Appeal Declines to Uphold Cabinet Administrative Secretaries’ Positions
On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal refused to pause the rulings that deemed the appointment of Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) as unconstitutional.
This pertains to the request submitted by a group of nominees, headed by Attorney General and digital strategist Dennis Itumbi, aiming to reverse the original ruling.
“Taking all the foregoing into account, we are not persuaded that the applicants have satisfied us that their appeal will be rendered nugatory if we do not stay the execution of the impugned judgment by the High Court,” read part of the ruling by the Court of Appeal judges Kathurima M’inoti, Mumbi Ngugi, and Francis Tuiyott.
“Having failed to satisfy both limbs under rule 5(2) b of the Court of Appeal rules, this application fails and is dismissed with costs to those of the respondents in the four applications who appeared and opposed the applications. It is so ordered.”
The Appellate Court’s decision highlighted that the petitioners hadn’t shown evidence of the potential consequences that Kenyans could experience if the appointment of the 50CASs is postponed.
In the legal proceedings where lawyers from the Katiba Institute and the Law Society of Kenya presented opposing arguments, they contended that the grounds presented to the court by the petitioners lacked merit or substance.
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Lawyer Justin Muturi, serving as a petitioner in the case with government representative Shadrack Mose, pointed out that the High Court’s ruling on the unconstitutionality of Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) positions limits the president’s authority in making governmental appointments.
As per the state attorney, the appointments were made within the appropriate timeframe and adhered to the legal framework necessary for appointing state officials.
According to Itumbi, the High Court had done a disservice to the 50CASs noting that they had been denied their right to disseminate services to Kenyans and further an opportunity to earn through their position.
The Appellate Court ruling comes barely a week after Majority Leader in the National Assembly Kimani Ichung’ah fronted a bill seeking to revive the positions by amending the National Government Administration Laws.
In his bill, the Member of Parliament for Kikuyu Constituency wants the establishment and further outline of the specific functions of the Head of the Public Service and Cabinet Administrative Secretaries.
Court of Appeal Declines to Uphold Cabinet Administrative Secretaries’ Positions
