This archive report was first published on 9 July 2021.
On July 7, 2021, Justice Byram Ongaya of the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Mombasa issued a temporary suspension order against the appointment of John Mwangemi as acting managing director of the Kenya Ports Authority.
The move effectively created a leadership vacuum in the parastatal, which has been plagued by political interference, vested interests, and boardroom wars in its hiring process.
The Commission for Human Rights and Justice (CHRJ) had filed a case against the appointment, arguing that it was made in secret and therefore violated the required recruitment process as provided for under the KPA Act and the Public Service Commission Act.
CHRJ executive director Julius Ogogoh claimed that the appointment of Mwangemi deprived other qualified and eligible applicants and the greater Kenyan public of an opportunity to serve.
He also argued that the secretive appointment denied Kenyans their legitimate expectation of an open and fair recruitment process and the right to participate in the hiring process.
John Mwangemi was appointed acting MD on July 1, replacing Rashid Salim, who is on a three-month terminal leave ahead of his retirement in September.
