The Employment and Labour Relations Court has upheld the appointment of Joseph Kitilit as Chief Executive Officer of the state-owned National Mining Corporation (NMC), dismissing a lawsuit filed by fellow candidate Hussein Adan Mohamed.
Justice Byram Ongaya ruled on 18 July 2025 that Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho acted lawfully in appointing Eng. Kitilit in May 2025.
He stated: “The petitioner has not demonstrated that any irrelevant considerations influenced the second respondent’s [CS for Mining] decision. The second respondent has been found to have selected the interested party [Eng. Kitilit] for appointment and exercised the discretion in line with the applicable circular.”
The court found no evidence to support Mohamed’s claims that the appointment was discriminatory or in violation of constitutional principles of fair administrative action.
The dispute arose after the National Mining Corporation board, following interviews conducted in February 2025, forwarded a shortlist of three top candidates to CS Joho for the CEO position. Hussein Adan Mohamed had emerged as the top-ranked candidate, scoring the highest marks among all applicants. The list ranked Mohamed first, followed by Joseph Kitilit and Alice Mulimi Muthama. This prompted Mohamed to claim that it was unlawful for the CS to bypass him.
CS Joho argued that Mohamed was unqualified for the role, stating that the mandatory requirement was 15 years of professional experience, whereas Mohamed had only 12. Kitilit, however, met all the required qualifications. The Cabinet Secretary exercised his powers under the relevant appointment framework to select from the board’s shortlist.
Mohamed had argued that,” The CS’s act of bypassing the petitioner in the appointment of the CEO without valid reasons is contrary to Article 47 of the constitution, which provides for the right to fair administrative action that is expeditious, efficient, lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair”. The court, however, found no constitutional violation, emphasizing the CS’s lawful decision within the appointment framework.
The ruling paves the way for Kitilit to continue leading the National Mining Corporation as the CEO.
– By Nusurah Nuhu
