The Employment Court on Friday, January 17, revoked the appointment of former Othaya MP Mary Wambui as chairperson of the National Employment Authority.
According to a report by Daily Nation, Justice Onesmus Makau noted that the politician was unqualified and that the appointment was irregularly done.
The judge further indicated that the ruling meant that a permanent injunction barring Wambui from being appointed to the post was in effect.
The former Othaya legislator had been appointed by the president on October 15, 2019, in a move that attracted public condemnation.
On October 23, the court suspended Wambui's appointment after a petition by the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association which opined that Mary Wambui is not qualified under the law, policy and best practice.
“That the 3rd respondent (Wambui) has on several occasions personally admitted that she possesses a limited educational background which for all intents and purposes makes her unqualified and unsuitable to conduct the affairs of the chairperson of the National Employment Authority in light of the specialist academic and professional requirements that were intended to be possessed by the chairperson of the said authority,” the petition reads.
The youth lobby group also indicated that Wambui does not hold neither has held any of the qualifications or their equivalent as required by the said Act in order to qualify as a certified Human Resource professional.
“That impending catastrophe of the impugned Gazette Notice can only be arrested by declaring it unconstitutional,” the petitioner added.
Further allegations indicated that the authority assigned to a State Officer is a public trust and should be exercised in a manner that is constitutional.
Nairobi senator Johnson Sakaja also condemned the appointment terming it as a move that mocks the young generation’s hope of attaining government posts.
The youthful senator lamented how Wambui failed to meet the basic requirement for a powerful position.
He further stated that many young Kenyans had distinguished themselves in the industry, even to the level of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), therefore stand a better chance to take up the role.
