This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
On November 14, 2019, the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi delivered a ruling that quashed the appointment of Esther Murugi and Tiyah Galgalo to the National Land Commission (NLC).
The court found the nomination of the two former Members of Parliament (MPs) as unconstitutional and in violation of principles of appointment in the public service.
Justice Hellen Wasilwa ruled that Parliament acted in excess of its powers by asking Ms. Galgalo to obtain a tax compliance certificate from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) during the vetting process, despite not having one at the time of the interview process.
“In exercise of this Court’s jurisdiction as mandated by the Constitution, I note that indeed it was excess of its power Parliament to bend back and ask a nominee to go and get document to qualify her for nomination when the duty of Parliament was to find out her suitability for nomination…”
Justice Wasilwa also noted that the selection panel was incompetent but that did not affect the outcome of its entire process.
The court's ruling was a significant blow to the two former MPs, who had been appointed to the NLC despite controversy surrounding their nomination.
