BY SAM ALFAN .
The High Court has stopped operations of the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse Authority (NACADA), pending the determination of a case challenging appointment of the board members.
Employment and Labour relations court judge Annah Mwaure suspended the operations of the board, following a petition challenging its composition.
The Board members were appointed by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on February 24, 2023.
“That leave granted herein operate as a stay of the execution of the functions of or further carrying on of the functions of the,” the judge ruled.
Prof Kindiki had appointed Fredrick Ngugi, Lucia Nzoongo, Ali Swaleh Nyamai, Ann Njeri Mathiu and Elijah Lagat as board members of the NACADA.
Hassan Kirua Ole Naado and Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) moved to court through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui arguing that the appointments were unconstitutional.
Lawyer Kinyanjui said in particular Nyamai, Njeri and Lagat were unconstitutionally appointed pursuant to the purported powers of the CS under Section 6(1)(h) of the NACADA Act (No. 14 of 2012).
He argued that Kindiki proceeded to unlawfully and without colour of right appoint the said five board members in an unconstitutional manner.
“As the evidence tendered in the Verifying Affidavit demonstrates, the Applicants immediately thereafter sought the formal explanation from the CS in line with Article 35 of the constitution as to why the name of Naado had been omitted in the naming of the Board under Section 6(1)(i) of NACADA Act (No. 14 of 2012), without any response,” he submitted.
SUPKEM had legitimately forwarded to CS Kindiki and PS Raymond Omollo the name of Naado as the nominee to represent the Muslim community in the Board and as matters stand, there is no Muslim representative contrary to the accepted practice in line with the Mwongozo Principles.
“By his own admission (as set out in his letter to the Ex Parte applicant dated 18th January 2023 annexed to the Verifying Affidavit herein), PS was minded not to have the Board constituted without the nominee proffered by the PS Interior to the said Board, which the 1st Respondent wholly overlooked in his final Gazette Notice now impugned,” said Naado and SUPKEM.
They argued that the appointments to State Corporations and agencies such as NACADA are appointments in the public service, and must at all times adhere to Articles 10(2)(c), 27(3) and 232(2)(g)-(i) of the Constitution of Kenya.
