Trade Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya (pictured) has 14 days to respond to a petition filed at the High Court over a move to appoint a caretaker board at the moribund Kenya Farmers Association (KFA).
Justice Teresia Matheka also directed the commissioner for cooperative development to respond to the suit filed by two civil rights activist George Narok and Paul Maina on behalf of the association.
The duo is challenging the government's decision to remove a board that was appointed by the farmers to KFA saying the appointment by the CS was in violation of the law governing private enterprises.
Narok and Maina also want a gazette notice 10384 and dated October 24, 2019, that removed the board of directors of KFA and appointed a caretaker board to be quashed.
They further claim the decision to remove the board of directors and appointing a caretaker board is unreasonable and unlawful.
KFA they claim is a private entity and the Government has no mandate in its operations.
Justice Matheka yesterday allowed the CS time to file responses to the application but declined to issue conservatory orders in the case.
Lawyer Ms. Gatu Magana acting for KFA informed the Court that there exists an order of a Court from Kapenguria which barred the ministry from inferring with the KFA board.
“The High Court of Kenya is one, we are all officers of one court, there is an order of the court, can’t give another order,” said Justice Matheka.
Matheka said the issue at hand is not light
The Court heard that there is another petition filed in Kericho against the Ministry.
The order issued in Kapenguria dated October 17, 2019, had ordered stopped the Government from inferring with the board of KFA.
In Kapenguria Tom Wanambisi had sued the Government. He had named KFA and nine other people as an interested party.
In November 14 the Court in Kapenguria noted the Court had noted the conduct of the CS of not obeying the court order.
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“It is clear that the respondents have no intention of obeying the orders issued by this honorable court on issued on October 17, 2019. This conduct on the part of the respondents is not being taken lightly by the Court since they should lead by example when it comes to the obedience of Court orders,” read an order of the Court dated November 14.
The Court noted that the stay orders issued applied with equal force to all actions of the ministry including the Gazette Notice 10384 by the Commission for Cooperative.
The case will be mentioned on December 5, 2019.
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