Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika on Tuesday, March 21, was found guilty for disobeying court orders in the appointment of 10 County Executive Committee (CEC) members.
Reports indicated that the Governor was faulted for not following correct proceedings as directed by the court.
While presenting her ruling, Lady Justice Hellen Wasilwa ordered Kihika to physically appear in court on April 18, 2023, for sentencing.
“The court rules that the new lists are presumably the same as the old ones, save for one name. It is clear that the Governor disobeyed court orders,” ruled Wasilwa.
In the application filed by Benjamin Gikenyi Magare, the applicant sought Kihika to either be fined or be committed to a civil jail for going against orders issued by the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
In December 2022, Justice Wasilwa quashed the appointments of the ten county ministers - arguing that the process contravened Article 232 of the Constitution which lists the values and principles of public service. She ordered fresh nominations of the ten CECs.
“It is in my finding that the process so far initiated for the appointment of CECs in Nakuru was skewed as it does not reflect the diversity of the county and the same should not be allowed,” the judge ruled at the time.
Three days after the ruling, Kihika forwarded a list of ten nominees, which was, however, disputed by petitioner Magare who accused the Governor of reintroducing a similar list that was quashed by the court and changing one name to make it appear like a new list.
The Governor, through her lawyer Tom Ojienda, however, defended the list by insisting that she followed due procedure during the recruitment process.
“She acted upon the issuance of the court orders. No other order was issued quashing the new list of her nominees,” the lawyer stated.
Kihika had forwarded 10 names for the CEC slots including Nelson Tanui, Samuel Mwangi, Stephen Kuria, John Kihagi, Kipkoech Bor, Roselyn Mungai, Josephine Achieng, Zipporah Wambui, Stephen Iribe Njogu and Michael Karanja.
