Muturi appeals court verdict that quashed hiring of CASs

Attorney-General Justin Muturi yesterday moved to the Court of Appeal to challenge Monday’s High Court decision that quashed the appointment of 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries by President William Ruto for being unconstitutional.  

In a notice of appeal filed yesterday, Muturi indicates that he will be challenging the majority decision of Justice Kanyi Kimondo and  Visram Aleem Alnashir  to declare the office of the CAS as unconstitutional, null and void.

Through lawyer Emmanuel Bitta, the Attorney-General says he is aggrieved by four findings of the court in the legal dispute.

His first beef is the verdict that the current office of the Chief Administrative Secretary created by President Ruto and Public Service Commission and contained in the Kenya Gazette Special Issue Number 12432 dated October 12, 2022 and which announced the vacancies thereof is unconstitutional.

He is further aggrieved by the two judges’ decision to find that there was no public participation regarding the additional complement of 27 office holders of Chief Administrative Secretary.

Government’s Principal Legal Adviser  says he is also aggrieved by the court decision that the entire complement of 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries is unconstitutional

Last of the decisions that Muturi is dissatisfied with is the declaration by the judges that notification by President William Ruto on March 16, 2023 appointing  50 CASs to the office of Chief Administrative Secretary was quashed.

At the same time, the AG has written to the High Court Deputy Registrar seeking to be furnished with the typed proceedings of the case and a certified copy of the judge and a decree to enable him file the appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Muturi’s move comes two days after the High Court invalidated the appointment of the 50 CASs on grounds that the law was not complied with in the establishment of the CASs office.

 Bitta said the State will challenge the court’s decision as the dispute touches on a fixed term contract.

On Monday, the three judges ruled that the appointment of the 50 CASs violated Section 27 of the Public Service Commission Act, hence was null and void.

“The procedure of establishing an office in the Public Service Commission has a basis in the Constitution…in undertaking that procedure, the president and the public service commission must be guided by the Constitution,” ruled the judges.

Justice Hedwig Ong’udi, however, differed with her colleagues Kimondo and Visram and said the 23 CAS appointments are valid since public participation was carried out.

The three judge bench also agreed with the petitioners in the case that there was no public participation in regard to the additional 27 posts.