The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has stopped the recruitment of the Chief Serjeant-at-Arms for the National Assembly, siding with a petitioner who argued the process was distorted to favour specific candidates. The order suspends the entire hiring exercise initiated by the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) last November pending the hearing and determination of a constitutional challenge.
The ruling is a major victory for petitioner Zachary Gichana Agwenyi, who lodged the complaint alleging the job advertisement contained discriminatory criteria that violated principles of fair competition and equity. Agwenyi’s case centred on a requirement that candidates must have served in the disciplined services for at least twelve years and attained the rank of a Major or a Senior Assistant Inspector General of Police, or its equivalent.
Through his legal representation, Lawyer Geoffrey Omenke he contended that this rank equivalence clause was “devious and manipulative,” giving an undue advantage to military officers over their counterparts in other security organs, as the rank of Major is not equivalent in seniority or remuneration to a Senior Assistant Inspector General.
In granting the conservatory orders, the court found that Agwenyi had established a prima facie case with a likelihood of success, raising serious constitutional questions under Article 232. The judge ruled that allowing the recruitment to proceed would risk rendering the petition meaningless, as an appointment could be made under the contested criteria before the legal issues were resolved. The order effectively freezes the process, maintaining the status quo until the matter is fully argued.
“We are gratified that the court has seen the merit in our arguments and intervened to prevent a potentially unconstitutional appointment from proceeding,” said a representative from Omenke Andeje & Co. Advocates, the firm representing Agwenyi. “This order upholds the principles of fair competition and meritocracy in our public service.”
The Assembly, through Deputy Clerk Jeremiah Ndombi, had argued that the petition directly impacted its core functions, as the Chief Serjeant-at-Arms plays a critical role in parliamentary security and ceremonial proceedings. Its application for joinder is still pending but will now proceed in the context of a halted recruitment.
