The Court has stopped the payment of all heads of accounting and procurement officers undergoing fresh vetting as directed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Making the ruling, Justice Byram Ongaya declared that the mass suspension of the public servants and paying them at the same time was not only unconstitutional but adverse on taxpayers.
The Employment Labour Relations court judge asserted that Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua’s circular was not in the best interest of the affected civil servants for want of due process required in normal employer-employee leave arrangements.
"The Court finds that the circular offended Article 47(1) which provides that every person has the right to administrative action that is expeditious, efficient lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair," judge Ongaya ruled.
[caption caption="Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua"]
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In June, President Uhuru ordered that all procurement officers would be vetted afresh in a bid to fight graft.
Following his order, Mr Kinyua sent a circular directing head of accounting units and procurement chain management to hand over to their deputies and proceed on leave for 30 days, which ended last Tuesday.
However, it is not clear whether the employees who were asked to step aside will resume work or continue staying at home with the expiry of the period.
Justice Ongaya added that imposing compulsory leave with full pay is offensive to the rule of reasonableness.
"The declaration that the circular is illegal and unconstitutional only to the extent that by designing and prescribing imposition of a compulsory leave with full pay, the circular thereby contravened articles 47 (1), 41 (1) 129 (2) and 232 (1) b of the constitution, only to that extent it is hereby rendered null and void," the ruling read.
The judge also mentioned that the general principle and best practice on leave is when parties agree as stipulated in their contract of service but when an employer imposes leave on the employee it amounts to an interdiction or suspension, connoting a disciplinary process.
This is the second time that Uhuru's directive has been challenged in court by activist Okiya Omtatah.
[caption caption="Activist Okiya Omtatah outside Milimani Law Courts"]
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