Court bars appointment of Kiambu ex-governor Waititu to commission
The High Court has barred the appointment of Kiambu ex-governor Ferdinand Waititu to the Nairobi Rivers Commission pending the hearing and determination of a petition challenging his appointment.
In the order issued by Justice Hedwig Ong’undi, the court directed that Waititu should not be appointed to any other state or public office pending the determination of the case filed by the Law Society of Kenya and Transparency International Kenya.
“A conservatory order is hereby issued staying the appointment of the 1st respondent (Waititu) as a commissioner of the 4th respondent (Nairobi Rivers Commission) and / or appointment to any other state or public office pending the hearing and determination of this petition,” reads the court order.
According to the petitioners, the decision by President William Ruto to appoint Waititu to the commission is unlawful and should be quashed.
They claim that Waititu is incompetent and should not hold a state or public office having been impeached as governor and removed from office in 2020.
The petitioners say that the constitution bars an impeached individual from holding public office.
“Whilst well thought, the appointment of Waititu flies in the face of the Constitution of Kenya, having been removed from office by impeachment as the governor of Kiambu by the county Assembly, a decision upheld by the Senate on January 29,2020,” the petition states.
They also questioned the advice of Attorney General Justin Muturi to the President over the appointment.
According to the petitioners, Muturi ought to have advised the President that such decisions do not meet the ethical appointments for state officers and are incapable of being upheld by courts if challenged.
