Public employers will now be required to demonstrate how successful candidates were selected after the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that merely claiming a recruitment process was fair and merit-based is not enough.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

In a judgment delivered by Justice Jacob Gakeri, the court nullified the recruitment of senior officers at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), finding that the process failed to meet constitutional standards of transparency, fairness and accountability.

The case was filed by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Mark Nabuyumbu Barasa, who challenged his exclusion from the shortlist for promotion to Senior Deputy Director and Deputy Director positions despite meeting the qualifications.

Barasa argued that he was unfairly left out while junior officers and others serving on secondment were shortlisted. After seeking an explanation, he was later invited for interviews outside the initial recruitment process but was still unsuccessful.

📌 What You Need to Know

During the proceedings, the ODPP and the Public Service Commission maintained that the recruitment was conducted fairly and on merit.

However, the court found they failed to provide evidence showing how candidates had been shortlisted and assessed.

Justice Gakeri said the respondents did not produce the shortlisting criteria, interview scores or any formula used to evaluate candidates, making it impossible for the court to verify whether the recruitment complied with the Constitution.

"There was also no formula placed before this court to show how the shortlist was arrived at," the judge said, before finding that "the process was flawed and in contravention of the Constitution."

The court declared the appointments arising from the recruitment process null and void, saying the exercise fell below the constitutional threshold required of public recruitment.

Justice Gakeri further ordered the respondents to re-advertise the positions , invite eligible applicants to apply afresh and conduct what he described as a transparent, credible and auditable recruitment process.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke