Union lauds court’s decision to nullify Health CS appointments
By George.Kebaso, December 19, 2023The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) yesterday welcomed the decision by the Employment and Labour Relations Court for reversing some appointments made by Health Cabinet Secretary, Susan Nakhumicha in April this year.
Chairman, Peter Wachira said the Court has done what’s expected of it by revoking the appointments.
“I thank the court for protecting the law and the rights of our members,” he said, emphasising that the Unions shall continue to fight against discrimination and lack of inclusion in policy making.
In April, a few days after the CS made the appointments, alongside creation of new offices, the medics under a caucus of healthcare unions faulted her for such a move, noting that she had acted unprofessionally, and outside the law.
They demanded that the CS withdraw all the appointments within a week, accusing her of breaching key values and principles in the public service. “Please note that this should be addressed within the next seven days, failure to which we shall take unspecified action without further notice to you,” they said in a joint statement, emphasising that any fresh appointments should be done by a team that acknowledges and represents the diversity within the health sector.
The unions that were involved included; KUCO, the leadership from Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), Kenya Health Professional Society and the Union of Biomedical Engineers of Kenya (UBEK) want the positions advertised and filled competitively.
Challenged appointments
In July, a Nakuru-based surgeon, Dr Magare Gikenyi and officials of KUCO moved to court to challenge the appointments.
He argued in suit papers that Nakhumicha usurped the constitutional and statutory powers and functions of the Public Service Commission (PSC).
Fast forward, the Employment and Labour Relations Court, besides nullifying the appointments of 59 senior officials to various Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs), also directed the government to recruit a substantive Director General of Health.
Justice Byram Ongaya’s orders cancel all the appointments Nakhumicha announced in an internal Memo on April 19 save for Dr Patrick Amoth, the acting Director General for Health.
The court also faulted the CS for usurping the PSC powers by failure to seek its approval.