The Milimani Law Court in Nairobi on Monday, February 20, blocked four President William Ruto nominees from assuming office as members of the National Climate Change Council (NCCC).
In her ruling, Justice Mugure Thande barred Emily Mwende Waita, John Kioli, Umar Omar, and George Odera Outa from either being gazetted or holding office until the case is determined.
The petitioners, Mt Kenya Network Forum and Indigenous People National Steering Committee on Climate Change (IPNSCCC), claimed that Ruto did not follow the procedure in appointing the members.
In particular, they alleged that he did not follow the constitutional process as the appointment process lacked transparency, competitiveness, merit, and public participation.
The interim order bars the country's efforts in the formation of the NCCC - which has taken over six years to be constituted after the enactment of the Climate Act.
The petitioners also claimed that civil society organisations working in climate were excluded from the council selection process.
"It is not clear who amongst the nominees is the representative of the largest civil society organisation working on climate change as it is envisaged in the Council Act or what process was used to select the representative for the civil society as required by the law and the Constitution and whether there was any form of public participation in the selection of the said individuals in accordance with the Public Participation Act," the petitioners noted.
The Court will give its determination on April 17, 2023.
The four appointees were expected to be vetted by relevant committees of both the Senate and National Assembly before approval.
The Climate Change Act, enacted in 2016, provided for the creation of the council to effectively coordinate all climate matters,
The council is also mandated to implement the climate change action policy across all counties through County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs).
The action policy, however, remained stagnant owing to the absence of the council.
