The appointment of Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Ali Hassan Joho has made its way to the court following a petition by a Human Rights body.
The Mombasa based organisation petitioned the High Court seeking to declare the appointment of Joho as unconstitutional and a fresh process be commenced.
The High Court will on October 17 make a ruling on whether Joho will continue serving in the Cabinet or his appointment will be quashed as sought by the petitioner.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi who heard the matter directed that the petition and application be served within seven days. Responses are to be filed and served within 14 days.
The petitioner, Genesis for Human Rights Commission, is also seeking to have an order issued restraining Joho from discharging his duties and functions of CS Mining pending determination of the case.
The commission says in the petition the committee on appointments disregarded a number of memoranda allegedly containing evidence of Joho’s unsuitability to serve in the Cabinet.
But the rights group argues that the former Mombasa governor ought not to have been cleared as he lacks the requisite academic qualifications to hold the office of cabinet secretary.
Joho replaced Salim Mvurya on August 9 after taking oath of office alongside 18 other Cabinet appointees in a ceremony presided by President William Ruto.
Caleb Ngwena the executive director of the group says he alongside other Kenyans submitted memorandums on Joho’s unsuitability but the same was not taken into account.
From the memo, Ngwena explains that he detailed reasons and evidence to the effect that Joho was not qualified academically to be appointed to his current position owing to lack of proper academic qualifications and allegations of economic crimes.
Further, Ngwena alleges that the CS was named in a dossier by former Interior Minister George Saitoti as part of a drug trafficking cartel and therefore does not qualify to serve in a public office.
“The office of registrar of political parties also failed in its mandate by clearing Joho for appointment as state officer while it has records to the effect that Joho was deputy party leader of orange democratic movement charged with duty of offering oversight in the investment and expenditure of the government and its members,” Ngwena says.
The petitioner has also named Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula and the Committee on Appointments as interested parties in the suit. He says despite having forwarded its memorandum in the form of affidavits, the committee did not consider it.
“The respondents failed to consider our memorandum of unsuitability making the appointment a violation of the constitution,”
Based on these, the group has asked the court to declare that his appointment unconstitutional and an order be directed to relevant authority to nominate vetting and appoint a suitable person for the position of CD for Mining.
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Committee on Appointments, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Commission for University Education, Office of the Registrar of Political Parties and the Attorney General have been listed as respondents in the case while Joho appears as an interested party.
At least 74 petitioners were filed in parliament during the vetting process, seeking to have Joho disqualified from the position.
Lawyer Charles Okari had requested information regarding the academic qualifications of Joho, nominee for cabinet secretary of Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs as presented to the National Assembly.
In another memorandum to the Committee on Appointments, a Human rights body is seeking to have Joho declared ineligible to take the position of the CS owing to his past record
In 2010, then-U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger announced travel sanctions on Kenyan politicians involved in drug trafficking including former MPs Harun Mwau, Gideon Mbuvi, Hassan Joho, and William Kabogo. The four were revealed as targets in the U.S. drugs probe.
The People’s Movement for Human Rights through its director Karanja Murai says he is contesting the nomination of Joho as a CS.
The Kenyan government also confirmed receiving the names from the US embassy after the late Saitoti tabled the list in parliament.
“The dossier tabled by Saitoti stated that Kenya’s Anti Narcotic Unit suspected Hon Joho was involved in the narcotics trade. According to the report Joho was connected to drug trafficking.
Thus, The activist urges the Appointments committee to consider the report in vetting the nominee who he says has a tainted past and does not stand by the principles of the Leadership and Integrity Act.
