President William Ruto's nomination of Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Noordin Haji as the new Director General for the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was on Friday, May 19, contested in court.
Lawyer Khatherine Cherotich challenged Haji's nomination as the top spy due to what she termed as falling below the provisions of Chapter Six of the Constitution.
The lawyer filed her case at the Nakuru High Court asking the Judge to issue orders stopping the recruitment process from progressing.
In the petition, Cherotich also listed Attorney-General Justin Muturi and the Public Service Commission as respondents.
She claimed that President William Ruto disregarded Chapter Six of the Constitution on leadership and integrity, therefore violating the law.
Further, the lawyer argued that Haji was not a suitable candidate for the position and accused him of violating the Constitution and his oath of office while serving as the DPP.
Through her advocate Kipkoech Ng'etich, she further cited the DPP's withdrawal of a number of high-profile cases immediately after Ruto took over the reins as the main reason for his unsuitability.
Cherotich argued that the Public Prosecutor failed to inspire confidence after withdrawing cases, some of which touched on individuals that ascended into power over the last nine months
Previously, DPP Haji withdrew a number of cases including those involving Public Service Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa, former Kenya Power boss Ben Chumo and former Samburu Governor Moses Lenolkulal.
Others whose cases were withdrawn included former Kenya Power managing director Ken Tarus, Ksh7.3 billion corruption case against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and a case against National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) CEO Geoffrey Mwangi.
During their withdrawals, Haji explained that the ODPP had resolved to the move after a review concluded that the evidence provided for each of the cases was not strong enough.
"In light of the request to review, the prosecution team sat and reviewed the evidence and realised that we were not able to respond to the letters without the evidence we had requested from the DCI at the time we were charging," Haji told the court.
Haji withdrew the cases while citing Article 157 (8) of the Constitution (2010) which allows the Director of Public Prosecutions to stop certain prosecutions.
