A city lawyer has moved to court seeking orders to compel President William Ruto’s advisers to refund millions paid to them in salaries and allowances, arguing that the appointments were made outside the law.
In a case filed under a certificate of urgency, Mr Suyianka Lempaa argues that the establishment and staffing of the offices occupied by tens of advisers were undertaken contrary to the constitution and the law.
The lawyer has named 14 advisers including Prof Makau Mutua (constitutional Affairs), Moses Kuria (senior economic adviser), David Ndii (Chair-council of economic advisers), Prof Edward Kisiangani (senior adviser), Dr Monica Juma (national security adviser) and Joseph Boinnet (deputy national security adviser).
He has also named Mr Jaoko Oburu (economic empowerment and sustainable livelihoods), Dr Nancy Laibuni (associate member- council of economic advisers), Harriette Chiggai (adviser on women rights), and Prof Abdi Guliye (adviser, livestock and rangeland management).
Mr Lempaa said some work of the so-called advisers can be handled by the relevant civil servants in various government departments.
“The inundation of the Public Service with advisors violates the prudent use of public money and due to lack of a law and or regulations of how many advisers that the president can appoint is not a carte blanche to saturate and inundate the public service with political appointees,” he said in the application.
The lawyer is seeking orders requiring the advisers to pay back to the exchequer all the monies and benefits paid to them.
He also wants the Public Service Commission (PSC) to conduct an audit within 60 days of the court’s judgment to identify all offices established by the President and the national executive contrary to the constitution and the law.
“The President and members of the national executive have created many offices and filled those positions unconstitutionally,” he added.
It is his argument that the offices were not created in accordance with the recommendation of the PSC.
Pending the hearing and determination of the case, Mr Lampaa wants the court to issue an order stopping further appointments of the advisers.
He said he moved to court because there are no laws and or regulations on how many advisers the president can appoint, opening a window for the president to fill the civil service with public servants who are recruited outside of the values and principles of public service.
He added that the lack of law and or regulations on how many advisers the president can appoint was not a “carte blanche to saturate and inundate the public service with political appointees”.
“Since the Kenya Kwanza government took over after the 2022 General Elections the president has appointed a parallel civil service that is duplicative of the functions of the civil service,” he submitted.
He also argued that there was no competition to establish among others the merit of those appointed to the offices.
Equally, because the process of creation of an appointment to the advisors was illegal and opaque, other constitutional values of public service including consideration of gender and disability were never complied with, he said.
