The Court of Appeal in Nakuru has confirmed that public officers who act outside the scope of their official duties cannot rely on government immunity to avoid personal liability.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

In the judgment obtained by Kenyans.co.ke, the court dismissed an appeal by a former District Commissioner who had sought to avoid personal responsibility for damages arising from a malicious prosecution case filed by several respondents.

The respondents had earlier been arrested and charged but later acquitted after the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence for the case to proceed.

“The Court considered the facts of the case and the law and announced a rule of law that a public servant who travels outside the remit of his office and acts maliciously towards his fellow citizens and thereby inflicts actual injury or emotional distress to such citizens loses the personal protection and immunity afforded to him by virtue of his public office,” the judgement stated.

📌 What You Need to Know

The judges upheld a High Court finding that the official was acting on a “frolic of his own,” which is a legal term describing a situation where an employee, such as a public officer, abandons their official duties to pursue personal objectives.

As a result, the court found that the commissioner could not rely on the protections normally afforded to State officers acting within the scope of their office.

The court found that it was proper to sue the public officer in his personal capacity, noting that immunity does not apply where an officer abuses public power or acts maliciously outside lawful authority.

Further, the judgement reiterated the High Court’s warning to public officials that the powers attached to public office must be exercised within the Constitution, the law and their official duties, cautioning that governmental authority should not be used to target individuals for political reasons or settle personal scores.

“The Court was reminding all public servants that their offices are clothed with public power to be exercised in accordance with the Constitution, the law and their oath of office. Public Officers should not excitedly and maliciously exercise power at the behest of the politically powerful to harm those perceived to be on the wrong side of the political divide at the given political moment,” the judgement read.

It added, “The rule of law this Court announced and applied was to remind public servants that political power and public office are transient. They pass. But the Rule of Law is, by our Constitution, enduring.”

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke