A male ECDE teacher during a lesson a classroom.
The recruitment of 230 Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers in Meru is under judicial scrutiny after three unsuccessful applicants challenged the selection process over alleged bribery, nepotism, discrimination and lack of fairness.
The High Court has ordered the County Public Service Board to disclose within 30 days the names, gender and sub-county or ward of origin of shortlisted and successful candidates.
Justice Heston Nyaga also directed every Board member to declare any family relationship with the candidates, giving the court information it said was missing.
The positions were advertised after the Board approved recruitment for 230 posts in 224 ECDE centres. The exercise attracted 2,336 applications, with interviews conducted from March 17 to 20, 2026.
The court dispute was filed by Gladys Makena, Diana Ntinyari and Alice Nyambura, who said they were qualified teachers but were excluded from the shortlist published on March 3. They challenged how the jobs were allocated on grounds of fairness, regional balance and merit.
They alleged that the process was affected by nepotism, cronyism, discrimination and corruption. They further claimed that more than 80 per cent of shortlisted candidates came from one sub-county and alleged that some applicants secured positions through connections and payments.
The petitioners alleged that applicants were being asked to pay Sh400,000 to influence the recruitment, a claim the Board denied and said was unsupported by evidence.
The applicants also questioned the treatment of persons with disabilities and complained that the shortlist did not show the sub-counties from which candidates came.
The Board rejected the claims as unsupported. Its Secretary and chief executive, Virginia Kawira Miriti, said the exercise followed criteria approved on February 6, including a minimum KCSE grade of D+ and relevant experience.
The Board said three applicants disclosed disabilities, two were shortlisted, and the third failed to meet the minimum KCSE requirement. It argued there was no requirement to state candidates’ sub-counties on the shortlist.
“The Petitioners have not provided any evidence of their ‘reliable information’ showing that the applicants were asked for a bribe of Sh400,000,” it added in rebuttal, adding that the matter had not been reported to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation or brought to its attention for investigation.
The Board said the recruitment was within its mandate, and interviews were complete, with results ready for release.
The court, however, found that the information supplied by the Board did not adequately answer the central questions raised by the petitioners.
“Whilst the list provides for the distribution of the interviews per ward, it does not give sufficient information as to where the candidates came from,” the court said.
It said the Board was required to demonstrate compliance with regional balance, gender and disability requirements, rather than leave the court to assume that the constitutional standards had been met.
“Unfortunately, the first respondent, despite facing a petition that accuses it of flagrant disregard of the Constitution, has been cagey with the information it presented to the court,” Justice Nyaga said.
He added: “That crucial information was not presented. It is not for the court to pore over the information presented and assume that the provisions of the law have been met.”
The court said the Board had a duty to show Meru residents that the recruitment was free from alleged violations.
The court nevertheless stopped short of finding that nepotism, corruption or discrimination had occurred.
“Given the dearth of requisite information on the specific violations alluded to by the petitioners, I am unable at this stage to make any conclusive findings,” Justice Nyaga said.
The Board was ordered to file complete lists of shortlisted and successful candidates with the required details while the Board members are expected to separately disclose family relationships with candidates.
The petitioners will have 14 days after receiving the information to respond by affidavit, after which the case will return for a compliance mention.
The court also struck out the County Government of Meru and County Secretary from the petition, finding that the County Public Service Board is the legal body responsible for county appointments.
The recruitment is part of a wider county investment in ECDE. Meru had allocated Sh34.5 million for the 230 new teachers and Sh43.2 million for implementing a scheme of service covering 1,693 ECDE teachers.
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