Court to hear case challenging Gurufa chief appointment on May 17

A case challenging the appointment of Chief Abdirahman Makahil Rashid to the position of Chief II Gurufa location will be concluded upon hearing from key witnesses.

Garissa Chief Magistrate Cosmas Maundu has summoned Garissa County Commissioner Mwangi Meru and Lagdera Deputy County Commissioner Philip Koima to appear before him on 17th May 2021 to explain how the recruitment process of filling the position of Chief II Gurufa location was undertaken on the 26th June 2020, that has seen the appointment of one Abdirahman Makahil Rashid.

Through a Notice of Motion application dated December 21 2020 by Abdirizack Abdullahi Sigat through his Lawyer Suleiman Bashir, Sigat claims that he was one of the 13 applicants shortlisted for the position and despite meeting the qualifications of the job, the employer settled on Makahil whom he claims fell short of the job requirements.

The Government through Senior State Counsel Wycliffe Odukenya insisted that filing documents is enough to make the court conclude on the case without necessarily summoning the County Commissioner and the Deputy County Commissioner. However, this move was heavily objected to by the Complainant’s lawyer.

The Ministry of Interior and Coordination advertised for the job on October 14, 2019. Some of the requirements for the job included education qualification of minimum C plain in the Kenya Certificate of Education, be a resident of Gurufa and be not less than 31 years of age.

Lawyer Suleiman claims that Makahil did not meet the age requirement set by the employer as he is two years short of the 30-year age requirement for a successful applicant. He also claims that Makahil attained a mean grade of D plus missing the requirement of C plain qualification at KCSE level.

The complainant further said in court papers that Makahil is not a resident of the Gurufa location, therefore, is not suitable to discharge the administrative duties as a chief.

The Complainant is hopeful that the Court will establish the gaps and illegalities in the recruitment process when both the County Commissioner and the Deputy County Commissioner will be examined by his Lawyer in an open court.