In response to a petition filed against the appointment procedure by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and Katiba Institute, Judges Kanyi Kimondo, Hedwig Ongundi, and Aleem Visram ruled on July 3, 2023, that only 23 candidates had public participation in the selection process for the CAS positions, and the other 27 had not complied with the constitutional requirement.
The court further highlighted that the position had been eliminated in the previous year, saying, “Once that office was abolished on September 2022, the newly created office and complement of 23 office holders could no longer benefit from that stay.”
Therefore the court ruled, “The newly-created office and fresh complement of 50 had to comply with the constitution and the criteria set out earlier in Okiyah’s case in order to be lawfully established. They did not comply. The entire complement is therefore unconstitutional.
On March 23, President William Ruto administered the oath of office to the 50 CAS after the National Assembly rejected to vet them, claiming it lacked the legal right to do so. Later, the High Court imposed orders preventing the CAS from taking office until the petition was heard and decided. The court also prohibited the appointees from receiving a salary, compensation, or any benefits until the lawsuit was resolved.
The judiciary further stated that it had no involvement in the process and had not sent any representatives to the state house to preside over the ceremony of being seared in.
Earlier today, Isaac Mwaura, the CAS nominee to the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, argued that the court should affirm their nomination because it will have no effect on the nation’s high cost of living insisting that the high cost of living will persist regardless of the court’s decision and urging Kenyans to accept the status quo and seek to revive the ailing economy.
”Even if we do away with these 50 appointments, the cost of living will still be high because there are other factors, these are just 50 people in the framework of a government with over 700,000 people.”