This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
On November 14, 2019, the High Court nullified the appointment of former MPs Tiya Galgalo and Esther Murugi as members of the National Lands Commission (NLC).
The Employment and Labour Relations Court had declared that President Uhuru Kenyatta erred in nominating two former MPs for positions they had not applied for at the NLC.
Justice Hellen Wasilwa ruled that the selection panel chaired by former Nyeri Woman Representative Pricilla Nyokabi irregularly recommended their appointment to the President.
“I find that the nomination and appointment of the 8th and 9th interested parties (Galgalo and Murugi) unconstitutional, null and void, especially when vied against article 232 of the constitution,” Justice Wasilwa said.
However, the judge allowed the nomination and appointment of lawyer Gershom Otachi as chairman, despite finding that the selection panel was not legally constituted.
Activist Okiya Omtatah and lawyer Antony Otiende had moved to court to stop the swearing-in of the nine on grounds of irregularity.
The judge concurred with the argument but failed to quash the appointment of Otachi and six commissioners, who are now set for swearing-in to office.
