President William Ruto’s 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) will remain out of their offices until a court decides whether or not to lift the interim orders that prevented them from assuming their duties.
Justice Hedwig Ong’udi refused the CASs’ requests to set aside the temporary orders issued last week.
The appointment of 50 CASs by Ruto instead of the 23 recommended by the Public Service Commission has been challenged by the Law Society of Kenya and activists who have filed twin petitions.
The dispute is focused on whether the High Court has the power to hear and determine the lawsuits and whether LSK and Katiba Institute can amend their petition.
At least seven CASs had reported to their offices and were given assignments, including Samuel Ole Tunai, Millicent Omanga, and Mohamud Saleh.
However, on Tuesday, CASs Dennis Itumbi, Evans Kidero, Samuel Tunai, and Nicholas Gumbo pleaded with the court to lift the temporary orders and allow them to return to their offices.
Lawyer Adrian Kamotho, representing Itumbi, argued that there is no law that limits the number of Chief Administrative Secretaries to 23. Kamotho added that the number of office holders recommended is at the discretion of the PSC based on workload analysis and other relevant considerations.
Attorney-General Justin Muturi, together with the PSC and the SRC, wants the court to first determine the issue of jurisdiction before dealing with any other application.
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