Labour court clears way for nomination of MCK chair

Employment and Labour Relations Court has vacated interim orders stopping recruitment of chairperson and members of the Media Council of Kenya (MCK).

In a brief ruling, Justice Monicah Mbaru set aside the orders issued on February 16, 2023 in a petition filed by rights activist Dr. Magere Gikenyi, who claimed that the selection panel comprised conflicted persons.

Justice Mbaru lifted the orders and paved way for the process to continue pending determination of Gikenyi’s petition.

Gikenyi, a surgeon based in Nakuru, had petitioned the court contending that the 13-member selection panel was nominated without due process.

He alleged that some of the persons shortlisted for the positions were in full time employment in the media sector while others hold positions that bar them from appointment to the council.

In her ruling, the judge also noted that there were two other petitions filed at the High Court in Kajiado and Milimani concerning the same issue and based on the same set of facts.

The court heard that the petition before her was filed after the High Court benches at Milimani and Kajiado declined to grant orders suspending the recruitment.

“In view of the ongoing matters before the High Court, which have been placed together, this court will hear the petition on merit. The interim orders are vacated to allow the court to hear all parties on merit,” said the judge.

She fixed the petition for mention on March 20, 2023 before the duty judge.

Petition before court

The judge vacated the orders after Charles Erick Oduor, who was one of the interested parties in the suit, told court that out of all the applicants shortlisted for chairperson and member of the Council the petitioner had taken issue with only three people.

Oduor stated that the persons targeted in the petition had the qualifications stipulated in Section 8(1) of the Media Council Act and as such they were both duly qualified and eligible for appointment as Chairperson and members of the board.

“The petition and application is discriminatory and unfair to the interested parties who are being exposed to public vilification by the petitioner on account of their hard earned positions as workers and representatives of workers in the media industry,” said Oduor.

The recruitment process began on November 29, 2022 by the then Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communication and Digital Economy, State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications Esther Koimett.

She sent a letter to various entities asking them to nominate persons for purposes of forming a selection panel to receive applications for filling vacancies at the media council of Kenya.

The selection panel appointed Emmanuel Juma as its chairman.

After receiving applications, the panel shortlisted seven persons for appointment as chairperson of MCK.

They were Joseph Muiruri, Susan Karago, Charles Erick Oduor, Churchill Moses Otieno Auma, Tabitha Mutemi, Kennedy Onyonyi and Peter Munywoki Mutie.

The panel also shortlisted 41 persons to fill seven vacancies of members of the MCK board.