William Kabogo nominees challenged in court

By Wahome Thuku

Kenya: Three businessmen have lodged a petition seeking to block the appointment of officials to the Public Service Board in Kiambu County.

The three: Justin Kimani, Barham Dev Vasisht and Alexandria Muhanji filed the case at the High Court in Nairobi, claiming the Kiambu County Assembly had rejected their appointments to the board on the grounds of age and ethnicity.

Through their lawyer Philip Nyachoti, they sought to have the appointments put on hold pending the hearing and determination of the case.

Ndungu had sought appointment as the board chairman while Barham and Muhanji as members.

In their petition, the three say they applied for the positions and were interviewed by Lincon Consulting firm on behalf of the country government.

They claim they were then informed that they were successful and would be hired. Kiambu Governor William Kabogo forwarded their names with four others to the clerk of the County Assembly for vetting as required by law.

Ndungu was cleared for appointment as chairman and the other two as members. The committee confirmed that they had all met the set requirements for the appointments under the constitution.

The committee forwarded their names to the County Assembly and tabled same for approval but the three petitioners were rejected.

Documents from the Assembly indicate that Ndungu, 67, was rejected because of his age, and Barham because he is from a minority ethnic group in Kiambu County.