Albert Nyakundi Bichanga has filed a petition at the High Court of Kenya in Nairobi challenging the public advertisement by the public service commission via Kenya Gazette where they advertised the post of Principal Secretary.
The advertisement directed that applications were to be submitted by September 20,2022 after which the names of the applicants and those shortlisted were to be listed in the print media.
According to the petitioner, the advertisement for the job was discriminatory in nature as the commission wanted applicants to have 10 years of relevant professional experience, five years of which should have been in a leadership position or at a top management level in the public service or private sector.
This means applicants who have no experience at all or have experience of between 1 to 9 years of professional experience and less than five years in top leadership or management are not eligible despite having other relevant qualifications.
Further, applicants were required to get clearance from the Kenya Revenue Authority, Higher Education Loans Board, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and Credit Reference Bureau.
These requirements from a job seeker as per the petitioner, are not only unconstitutional but are against the existing labor laws and were never subjected to public participation.
The petitioner proceeds to say that the bodies in question or any other are not mandated by the constitution to scrutinize a desperate job seeker for clearance to get employment. And therefore, the requirements are just an opinion of the respondent, not the constitution, hence illegal.
The petitioner further challenges the commission by stating that their advertisement, for reasons known to them did not specify the number of vacant posts to make the process competitive. This meant that they had a list of preferred candidates and only wanted to engage job seekers in a wild goose chase.
In this light, therefore, many Kenyans according to Nyakundi, did not apply as the advertisement discouraged them to do so, further insinuating that the Commission’s exercise was opaque and had preferred candidates.
That notwithstanding, the petitioner submits that it is clear from the Commission’s advertisement that serving Principal Secretaries were also required to apply giving them an upper hand in the recruitment process. This created a lack of a level playing field and discouraged other applicants.
The application proceeds to say that the advertisement was misleading and purported to usurp Presidential Powers on appointment. This is because the commission gave requirements for appointment as a principal secretary instead of requirements for application for the post of principal secretary.
Mr. Nyakundi further said that the commission went ahead to extend the application deadline from 20th September 2022 to 27th September 2022 without giving any reason, a clear sign that it had preferred people who had been locked out and were intentionally given more time to apply.
