The High Court has suspended the appointment of Kenya Ports Authority’s new acting Managing Director.
According to Employment and Labour Relations Court Justice Byram Ongaya, John Mwangemi was hired without following due process.
“An order is hereby issued quashing the decision of the Cabinet Secretaries Ukur Yatani(Treasury) and James Macharia(transport) and KPA and executed by Yatani on July 1,” he ruled.
Justice Ongaya certified as urgent a case filed by the Commission for Human Rights and Justice(CHRJ).
CHRJ, through executive director Julius Ogogoh wants Mwangemi’s appointment annulled arguing that it violated provisions of both KPA Act and Public Service Commission Act.
According to the commission, Mwangemi neither applied nor shortlisted in the previous recruitment exercise and the persons interviewed and shortlisted were rejected by Yatani who has secretively appointed Mwangemi.
“The secretive manner in which Yatani carried out the process denied other qualified applicants an opportunity,” argued the commission.
They also argued that the secretive process denied Kenyans legitimate expectation of an open and fair recruitment process.
Mwangemi was appointed to replace Rashid Salim who is on three months terminal leave ahead of his retirement in September.
Salim was holding the acting MD position following the resignation of Daniel Manduku over graft claims.
He resigned before the KPA board could interrogate him.
Manduku was accused of impropriety in the award of a 244.8 million tender to 10 contractors for the manufacture of concrete barriers without following procurement law.
He was detained after driving himself to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation headquarters.
Manduku was the second KPA boss, after James Mulewa, to be charged over alleged corruption at the agency.
