A past Kenya Prisons Service recruitment of prison constables. Two warders have filed a petition challenging the current recruitment of Kenya Prisons Service cadets.
Two warders have filed a petition before the High Court challenging the recruitment of Kenya Prisons Service cadets whose application deadline is April 30.
Mr Peter Agoro and Mr Henry Muriithi have filed the petition on behalf of 600 others seeking orders to stop the recruitment, which they claim is discriminatory and illegal.
The warders allege a scheme to secretly hire senior officers through corrupt and backdoor means, at the expense of promoting qualified personnel.
Through a certificate of urgency, the petitioners want the court to issue orders restraining the Commissioner General of Prisons and the Public Service Commission from proceeding with the recruitment.
They argue that it violates the rights of graduate officers within the service who are being overlooked for promotions despite meeting the required qualifications.
The petitioners are challenging the criteria used for the promotion of serving officers to the rank of Inspector of Prisons, as well as the qualifications set for members of the public seeking recruitment into the service as professional cadets.
According to them, the criteria give undue advantage to external candidates over serving graduate officers.
“If not restrained, the recruitment will irreparably prejudice the rights of graduate officers and undermine the values and principles of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010,” reads the Notice of Motion dated April 17.
Mr Agoro, in his submission before Justice Hellen Wasilwa, says that the Commissioner General of Prisons commenced the recruitment of professional cadets, technicians and artisans through an advertisement published in local dailies on April 17.
He argues that the advertisement outlined eligibility criteria that was not only discriminatory but also exclusionary, particularly against serving prison officers who have attained higher academic qualifications, possess requisite experience and have shown commitment to serving in higher ranks.
The advertisement sought to recruit externally for positions that, according to the petitioners, could be filled internally through the promotion of existing officers.
The eligibility criteria for the recruitment of inspectorate and professional cadets, the petitioners say, excluded all constables unless they possessed a Master’s degree contrary to the previous requirement of a Bachelor's degree.
They lament that the Kenya Prisons Service has not published or implemented a career progression policy to guide the promotion of officers who have advanced their academic qualifications.
This, they argue, has perpetuated a pattern of stagnation and professional frustration among personnel particularly graduate constables who have served for 10 to 15 years without promotion.
“The lack of skills audit and workforce analysis by the Kenya Prisons Service has led to poor human resource planning and irrational recruitment decisions where the service fails to recognise and utilise existing internal talents and opt for the same externally,” states Mr Agoro.
He adds that there have been numerous complaints from officers, most of whom are afraid to pursue their rights for fear of victimisation by their superiors.
The petitioners now seek court orders prohibiting the ongoing recruitment process and declaring the external recruitment advertisement illegal, null and void.
They also want the court to compel the Kenya Prisons Service to conduct a comprehensive skills audit and human resource analysis before initiating or proceeding with any fresh recruitment.
Additionally, they are calling for internal candidates to be prioritised over external applicants and for the requirement of a Master's degree for serving officers to be suspended.
The Commissioner General of Prisons, the Principal Secretary for Correctional Services, the Interior Cabinet Secretary and the Attorney-General have been named as respondents in the case.
Others listed as interested parties are the Kenya National Human Rights Commission, the Commission on Administrative Justice, the CS for Labour, the Public Service Commission, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions and the National Assembly.
