A High Court has quashed the appointment of 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) by President William Ruto.
Three judges—Justices Kanyi Kimondo, Hedwing Ong’udi, and Visram Alnashir—rendered the ruling on Monday.
They ruled that although there was public participation prior to the appointments, it was only restricted to 23 CASs, not the 50 that President Ruto had picked.
“There was no public participation in the appointment of the extra 27 CASs. The establishment of the extra 27 CAS positions is unconstitutional,” Justice Ong’udi ruled.
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“For the avoidance of doubt, the entire complement of 50 CASs is therefore unconstitutional.”
The three-judge bench also criticized President Ruto’s administration for failing to have the National Assembly vet the CASs after they were selected by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
According to the Court, legislative vetting was required since CASs’ responsibilities fell somewhere between those of a constitutional office and a state office.
“CASs are for all purposes assistant Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries are relegated to reporting to CASs and CSs,” the bench noted.
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In their verdict, the judges further questioned the wisdom of having 50 assistants to Cabinet Secretaries when the Kenyan Constitution only allows for a maximum of 22 CSs.
“We do not think it was the intention of framers of our Constitution to have 50 CASs deputising 22 CASs,” they said.
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