AG to contest Court’s nullification of county bosses

By Athman Amran

Attorney General Githu Muigai will on Monday appeal the nullification of the appointment of county commissioners by a High Court judge.

Making the announcement, Internal Security Permanent Secretary Mutea Iringo claimed the rationale behind the revoking of the appointments by High Court judge Mumbi Ngugi is questionable given that other ministries have also appointed and deployed county representatives.

The PS, who was speaking to the county commissioners when closing their induction at the Kenya Institute of Administration in Lower Kabete on Saturday, also said that it was difficult to respect the gender rule in some professions like the military and the police.

He assured the 47 county commissioners that they are there to stay and hoped that there will be a fair hearing of the appeal. Iringo also urged the commissioners to go back to their stations and continue with their work.

The High Court judge had ruled last Friday that the appointment of the commissioners was null and void, as President Kibaki had contravened several sections of the constitution in his purported appointment of the officers.

“The President is under obligation to steer the country in observing the Constitution. He therefore did not have powers to appoint the county commissioners as he had purported to do,” Ngugi said in her ruling.

She said the constitution clearly stipulates that no one gender should be allowed to hold over two thirds of any given Government appointment but the President failed to observe the provision.

The judge also said that the Government had acted in haste to fill the vacancies without following the laid down procedure of public participation and competitiveness.

She observed that the legislature should have created the offices of the county commissioners first before appointments were concluded adding that there was a rush to fill positions that never existed.

Ngugi also explained that failure by the President to consult Prime Minister Raila Odinga was a contravention of section 29 of the National Accord.

Centre for Rights Education and Awareness had sought the nullification in court of the appointments arguing that the move had failed to meet the two-thirds gender threshold.