The court issued a conservatory order directing the Attorney General and the National Assembly to collect and preserve all documents related to the nomination, vetting, and appointment of Cabinet Secretaries. The court set September 18, 2024, as the date for further directions.
KHRC and Wanjiru Gikonyo contested the appointment of 19 cabinet secretaries, citing that MPs did not adequately consider public input. KHRC and Gikonyo sought to nullify these appointments.
On June 18, protests erupted across Kenya in response to the 2024 finance bill, which threatened to raise taxes and increase the cost of living.
Young Kenyans spearheaded the demonstrations, urging their MPs to reject the bill.
The protests reached a peak on June 25, when MPs passed the bill, prompting the youth to storm parliament and intensify pressure on President William Ruto to veto the legislation.
Under relentless pressure, Ruto eventually conceded and vetoed the bill.
However, rejecting the finance bill was just one of many demands from the youth, with the most significant being the complete overhaul of Ruto’s administration.
Although Ruto initially resisted calls to dismiss his cabinet, he eventually relented and dismissed the cabinet secretaries on July 12.
Nevertheless, when he reconstituted his full cabinet, Ruto reinstated 10 of the dismissed officials, along with new nominees whose integrity was questioned.
Worse still, when these nominees appeared before the National Assembly for vetting, MPs failed to give proper consideration to public feedback on their suitability.
They did not thoroughly examine the nominees' backgrounds, qualifications, and ethical conduct, resulting in the appointment of individuals who were not subjected to comprehensive financial scrutiny or an adequate evaluation of their integrity.
A report on the vetting process revealed that Kenyans submitted 813 memoranda challenging the nominees' suitability, but MPs dismissed 656 of these petitions, citing that they were not submitted under oath.
Media reports indicate that the National Assembly received slightly more than 1,300 affidavits, of which only 187 supported Ruto's new cabinet nominees, suggesting that MPs prioritized procedural technicalities over substantive concerns.
Furthermore, the executive did not allow sufficient time for the public to review the vetting report, as the cabinet secretaries were sworn in less than 24 hours after being approved by MPs.
As a result, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Wanjiru Gikonyo filed a case seeking to revoke the appointment of the 19 cabinet secretaries.
The petition argues that the nomination, vetting, and appointment processes failed to meet the required legal and constitutional standards.