High Court judge Byram Ongaya on Thursday, May 29, 2025, nullified more than 200 promotions made at the Office of the Attorney-General last year, citing gender and ethnic imbalance.

The judge directed the Public Service Commission (PSC) to address the issues surrounding the promotions within three months, in accordance with the Constitution, relevant laws, regulations, and policies.

The affected officers, many of whom are state counsel, were said to have stagnated in their grades for extended periods.

A declaration is hereby issued that the Commission shall, within three months from the date of this judgment, resolve the issues surrounding the promotional plight of the affected officers at the Office of the Attorney-General, in line with constitutional, statutory, regulatory, and policy provisions,” part of the judgment reads.

The court also declared unconstitutional the amendment of the Office of the Attorney-General Act through the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act No. 3 of 2024.

This amendment transferred some powers from the PSC to the Office of the Attorney-General.

The court ruled the changes null and void.

Petitioners in the matter also sought, and the court agreed, that appointments and promotions within the Office of the Attorney-General—excluding common establishment positions—must be based on fair competition and merit.

They must also reflect gender balance and the face of Kenya through ethnic and regional diversity.

Furthermore, the judgment affirmed that all human resource functions, including appointments and promotions, must be guided by instruments that have been properly considered and approved by the PSC in accordance with Article 234(2) of the Constitution.

The decision by the High Court fits into a pattern in which key state agencies have been found violating the Constitution.

In this situation, the State Law Office, the State’s legal advisor, is the culprit.

There seems to be a determination by State organs to break the Constitution, mainly for political reasons and corruption.

Reports by the Auditor General that are regularly presented to Parliament depict a situation where many state organs seem to have gone rogue.

These include parastatals, ministries and even constitutional commissions.

If it is not tribalism at the Kenya Revenue Commission, then it is theft in public universities, aided land grabbing of national forests, pilferage in counties, favouritism at the Teachers Service Commission, disappearance of the public seal at the State Law Office and mystery around Ksh6 billion bad loan at the Hustler Fund.

The other major issue is that most institutions have been found not to have ignored the voice of the people by making legal changes through the back door.

The leaders of government institutions must be enshrined in the Constitution and place the people at the centre of decision-making.