The Employment and Labour Relations Court has struck out a petition seeking to quash the appointment of Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General Adan Mohamed over claims that he exceeded the mandatory retirement age of 60, ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
Justice Monica Mbaru of the Employment and Labour Relations Division held that the dispute was filed in the wrong court and belongs in the High Court, where two other challenges to the appointment have been filed.
She upheld a preliminary objection by the KRA Board, backed by the National Treasury, against the petition filed by activist Francis Awino and struck it out.
The Treasury said the petition was a public-law challenge, not an employment dispute. KRA argued that Mr Awino had no standing to file the case before the Labour Court and that it belonged in the High Court.
Adan Mohamed
Photo credit: File | Nation
The judge said the court was bound by a 2026 Supreme Court ruling, which clarified that the Employment Court cannot handle petitions brought by citizens who have no employment relationship with the respondent, such as being an employer or having trade union links.
KRA had relied on the decision, which set the limits of the labour court’s authority in such matters.
Mr Awino, who acknowledged to the court that he was not seeking the position or asserting a personal employment right, had asked the court to quash the appointment and order a fresh recruitment.
He filed the public interest petition under Articles 22 and 258 of the Constitution, which allow public-interest cases to enforce constitutional rights, alleging that Mr Mohamed had passed the retirement age, that no lawful exemption had been disclosed and that the appointment lacked a transparent, competitive and merit-based process.
He countered that the case concerned public employment, recruitment and eligibility for public office, arguing that the labour court can hear some recruitment disputes before employment begins and determine constitutional questions within its jurisdiction.
But the court said his submissions showed he had no employment relationship with the respondents and was acting only in the public interest.
Mr Mohamed was appointed by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi through a Gazette notice dated May 18, 2026, for a three-year term under the Kenya Revenue Authority Act. He succeeded Humphrey Wattanga, who left in April after being appointed Kenya’s High Commissioner to South Africa, with Lilian Nyawanda serving as acting Commissioner-General in the interim.
The Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) filed a separate petition over the same appointment at the High Court after its earlier labour-court case was struck out in August on similar jurisdictional grounds. Another rights advocate, Bernard Opere, also challenged Mr Mohamed’s appointment in the High Court on age and public-service grounds.
The court dispute turned on whether Mr Mohamed could lead the tax agency after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60 for public officers. The ruling therefore leaves unanswered whether Mr Mohamed, appointed for a three-year term, was eligible for the post, since the court did not reach the merits.
Mr Mohamed previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Industrialisation and Trade and later held the East African Community and regional development portfolio.
Before government, he held senior banking roles, including chief executive of Barclays Kenya, managing director for Barclays East and West Africa, and chief administrative officer for Barclays Africa, overseeing operations across ten countries.
Section 80(1) of the Public Service Commission Act provides for retirement at the prescribed age, while subsection (2) allows a retired officer to be engaged on contract if conditions are met, including a need for rare skills.
