NAIROBI, Kenya- The High Court has temporarily halted the re-appointment of members of the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) Board, pending the hearing and determination of a constitutional petition challenging the board’s composition and recruitment practices.
In an interim ruling, Justice Lawrence Mugambi issued a conservatory order suspending any gazette notice reappointing members of the current board who may be due for another term.
“An interim conservatory order lasting up to the next mention date, unless extended by this court, shall issue restraining or suspending any gazette notice reappointing members of the current board,” the judge ruled.
The court directed that the matter be heard within 20 days.
The orders follow a petition filed by Benjamin Okumu, who accuses the KETRACO Board of violating constitutional principles on national values, inclusivity, and ethnic diversity in public appointments.
In court documents, Okumu alleges that the board presided over recruitment processes that disproportionately favoured members of one ethnic community, contrary to the Constitution’s requirements on representation and fair competition.
He claims that five out of eight senior executive positions—about 63 per cent of the Executive Committee (EXCOM)—are currently held by individuals from a single community. T
he petition further alleges that shortly after the current board assumed office, several senior executives were removed and replaced, resulting in five out of nine top executive roles being occupied by individuals from the same community.
Okumu also accuses Mercylynate Chepkirui, who chairs the Board’s Human Resource Committee, of facilitating the dismissal of non-Kalenjin managers.
“Given the outcome of the recruitment processes, the Petitioner avers that interference, bias and ethnic favouritism by the Chairperson of the Committee and the Board as a whole cannot reasonably be ruled out,” the court papers state.
The petitioner argues that the alleged actions undermine constitutional provisions requiring merit-based recruitment, fair competition, and representation of Kenya’s diverse communities in public service.
The case will be mentioned on a date to be set by the court as it considers whether to extend the interim orders.
