There is no respite for president William Ruto’s quest to incorporate his elusive Cabinet Administrative Secretaries (CASs) as Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and three other Kenyans have now moved to court to abolish the establishment of the controversial CAS office.
Senator Omtatah and activist Magare Gikenyi have sued the government demanding that the decision to establish the position be re-evaluated.
In the case, they argue that the CAS office and that of the Head of Public Service were created in disregard of the law and should be scrapped.
They further argue that the government is hatching a plan to revise the law in their favour to grant them room for restarting the hiring process of the CASs despite a case barring the appointment in the Court of Appeal.
The co-accused include the Attorney General, the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Salaries Remuneration Commission (SRC).
CASs are set to take home a gross salary of Sh780,000 if appointed by president William Ruto.
The SRC recommended to the PSC in April that the wages of a CAS will be capped at Sh780, 000, slightly higher than the Sh710,000 an MP pockets every month.
The salary includes Sh459,113 in basic pay, Sh165,000 house allowance, and Sh155,887 in salary market adjustment.
The latter was effected after the National Assembly passed a bill legalizing the appointment of CASs amidst national dialogue on huge pending bills in the government.
Previously, the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee had capped the number of CASs to 22, but that was changed to allow the president a free hand in the number of CASs to be appointed.
