High Court halts PS gender rule case pending Court of Appeal jurisdiction decision

Jukwaa

📻 Breaking It Down

Justice of the High Court sitting at the Milimani High Court declined to determine the petition filed by the Katiba Institute, citing an unresolved jurisdictional dispute between the High Court and the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC).

The court ruled that proceeding with the case while a similar matter remains before the ELRC could result in parallel proceedings and potentially conflicting decisions.

The petition, filed in November 2022, challenged the process used to nominate and appoint 51 Principal Secretaries, arguing that the list submitted by President William Ruto did not comply with the constitutional requirement that no more than two-thirds of members of appointive bodies should be of the same gender.

📌 What You Need to Know

Of the 51 nominees announced in November 2022, 39 were men and 12 were women, translating to 76 per cent male and 24 per cent female representation.

Katiba Institute argued that the composition of the list violated Articles 27(6) and 27(8) of the Constitution, which provide for equality, affirmative action and the two-thirds gender principle.

The petitioners also challenged the failure by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to publish the names of 250 candidates it had reportedly forwarded to the President for consideration.

They argued that the failure to disclose the list violated the constitutional right to access information under Article 35 and undermined the principles of transparency and accountability in public appointments.

In its ruling, the High Court noted that similar proceedings had been filed before the ELRC, including a petition challenging the nomination, vetting and appointment of the 51 Principal Secretaries.

The ELRC had previously held that it had jurisdiction to determine the dispute.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya

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