Nandi governor moves to court to challenge verdict quashing appointments of CECs

Nandi governor Stephen Sang has revealed that he is heading to the court of appeal to challenge a verdict by the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Eldoret.

This follows after the verdict quashed the appointments of eight executive members in his government following a suit filed by Nandi resident Onesmus Kimeli. The suit named all eight CECs as interested parties and Governor Stephen Sang as the first respondent.

Kimeli was seeking a permanent injunction, preventing governor Sang and the two other respondents from purporting to nominate, approve, and appoint CECs without the strict requirement of a list that reflects the county's cultural, gender, and ethnic diversity.

The petitioner further framed three issues which he asked the court to determine, that's whether the court adjudicated the matter, whether the respondents complied with the mandatory requirements of the law in the nomination, approval and subsequent appointment of the interested parties and whether the respondents are personally liable for breach of the applicable constitutional and legislative thresholds.

Eldoret Judge Maureen Onyango noted in her ruling that the governor was bound to promote gender parity by adhering to the two-thirds gender rule, and that failure to do so rendered the nominations both unconstitutional and unlawful.

"Having found that the interested parties were in violation of both the constitution and the county government act, I find that the petition herein has merit and therefore make orders that the first respondent has violated several articles of the constitution," the judge stated.

But in a statement sent to newsrooms, governor Sang disagreed with the court ruling saying he followed the law during appointments of his cabinet members

"One of the grounds that Eldoret court quashed the appointments of my CECs is gender rule principle, but it is evident that the case filed by the petitioner had 8 executives members; 6 men and 2 women whom I had appointed them prior to their vetting. But later I appointed another CEC who is female making the total 9 that is 6 male CECs and 3 female CECs and gender principle was fully sorted as required by the law" Sang said.

On the appointments of minority persons, as also required by the law, Sang said the same CEC Rose Angira who represented the minority tribe in Nandi as the Sports and Gender executive member comes from the Luhya community contrary to the petitioner's claims that Sang's cabinet members were all Kalenjins.

The petitioner had also prayed to the court to overturn Sang's executive on grounds that five executive members who served in his first term and were re-appointed were never subjected to vetting a prayer which Nandi county boss in his statement has said the matter was still pending in the Court of Appeal as the vetting of the ministers as well as executive members at the counties who were re-appointed had been questioned in the High Court and stay orders granted.

"The vetting or not to be vetted of the executives who have been re-appointed is still a case in court of appeal pending determination. We are still going by stay orders granted until the matter is concluded, so not law that I breached by not allowing the 5 CECs to be vetted by the assembly," Sang noted.

Although governor Sang has said he will make an appeal pending its verdict, the delay in the determination of the matter might also jeopardise and paralyse development and operations in the said departments and now he will be resubmitting the same names that he nominated to the assembly for vetting

"We therefore await a definitive direction on this issue for posterity and the fullness of time from our appellate courts. I commit pending the appeal to comply with court directions understanding how practical legal and political reality that a delay in the determination of the appeal might disrupts operations and service delivery. I will also submit the same names of the CECs as currently constituted to the assembly for vetting and approvals," Sang affirmed.