Nakuru Interim County Secretary risks ouster from office after a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) moved to court contesting his appointment.
Joseph Motari and the Nakuru County Government have been sued by the County Efficiency Development (CEDEV) which claims the interim secretary was not competitively appointed.
“Motari’s appointment failed to meet the constitutional threshold as he was not recruited competitively. He did not go through an interview process before his name was submitted to the assembly,” reads a part of the petition.
Through their lawyer John Githui, the NGO noted that the county government of Nakuru was challenged in September 2013 over its appointment of some members of its public service board.
Justice Anyara Emukule then upheld the decision to reject the appointment of county secretary Joseph Motari. The judge concluded that Motari may continue serving as the interim secretary pending the appointment of a competitively recruited county secretary.
In accordance with the court finding, the county government was obligated to comply with the law and court by advertising and recruiting a county secretary in accordance with constitutional provisions.
To date, after more than one year, the county government is yet to make any initiative or comply with the said court order. According to the NGO, Motari has continued to hold office and has over time become the county secretary who is supposed to be duly appointed under the act.
Through their lawyer Waitindi Kahiga, the county government urged the court to strike out the case terming it baseless.
However Justice Abigail Mshila gave both parties 30 days to file and serve responses with a mention date on April 24 for purposes of compliance and further directions.