A court has suspended the appointment of former Othaya MP Mary Wambui to the National Employment Authority following a petition by the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association.
The association of young parliamentarian had argued that Ms Wambui, designated to chair the board of the authority, does not qualify under the law, policy and best practice.
Appointed through a Gazette notice of October 14, 2019, Ms Wambui, 69, sounded upbeat despite the mixed reaction her appointment caused across sections of the Kenyan society. “I got the post because I am better than those complaining. I have the qualifications and experience to run the office,” said the former legislator.
But the petitioners, led by Nairobi County Senator, Johnson Sakaja, would hear none of that arguing in their petition that none other than Ms Wambui herself has on several occasions personally admitted that she “possesses a limited educational background which for all intents and purposes makes her unqualified and unsuitable to conduct the affairs of the chairperson of National Employment Authority in light of the specialist academic and professional requirements that were intended to be possessed by the chairperson of the said authority.”
Senator Sakaja, in a rare show of forthrightness against the President, who is also his party leader publicly argued “the leadership of such an institution would need a vision carrier with knowledge of the subject matter and with the passion to drive it especially at its inception.”
While pronouncing herself on the matter, Labour Court Judge Hellen Wasilwa said that the suspension will stay in force pending the hearing and determination of the case before court.
