The High Court in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, has declared 50 senior ministerial positions illegal.
In their ruling on Monday, judges Hedwig Ong’udi, Aleem Visram and Kanyi Kimondo said the 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs), who were appointed by President William Ruto in March, should not occupy office.
The CASs are equivalent to assistant ministers, a position that was scrapped after Kenya adopted the 2010 Constitution.
The three-judge bench said they "do not think it was the intention of the framers of the constitution to have 50 CASs deputising 22 cabinet ministers."
The judges further said the executive did not conduct adequate public participation before settling on the 50 CAS positions.
Election losers' reward
Ruto had selected several politicians for CAS positions, most of them being losers in the August 9, 2022 General Election.
Nairobi's inaugural governor, Evans Kidero, and musician-turned-politician Charles Njagua, whose stage name is Jaguar, were among those picked to serve as CASs.
The CAS position was first created by Ruto's predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, in January 2018.
Inflated government
Justifying the creation of the new position, Kenyatta said the respective office holders would "help cabinet secretaries (ministers) run the various dockets."
The former president had about 30 CASs, while Ruto, who assumed office in September 2022, increased the number to 50, triggering a court petition.
Had the CASs assumed office under Ruto's reign, they would have cost Kenyans a total of Ksh460 million ($3.3 million) in gross salaries annually.
