Court denies community special status

A community in Bungoma has been dealt a blow after the Court of Appeal ruled that it cannot claim to be marginalised.

The court overturned a High Court ruling that gave the community the special marginalised status.

In the earlier ruling, High Court judges had asserted that the Bungomek community is marginalised, and its members should be appointed in county government positions.

The judges had said the community, which has 3,704 people according to 2009 government statistics, is a minority and had been considered less important by the Bungoma County Government.

“What is important is the fact that the Bungomek represent the ethnic diversity of Bungoma County," the High Court said in a ruling read by Justice Alfred Mabeya.

"What the county authorities should have done was to accommodate this diversity by appointing its members in county positions."

The Appeal Court, however, asserted that despite the Bungomek being a minority, they were not marginalised.

It faulted the High Court judgement, saying the judges had acted contrary to the Constitution by getting involved in how the county government recruits its staff.

“The appeal is therefore allowed,” the Appeal Court judges ruled.