In a recent development, High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi has dismissed a petition challenging the appointments made by Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba in February 2023.
he ruling, delivered on March 20, addressed concerns raised regarding the legality of certain appointments.
High Court dismisses petition challenging appointment of Azziad & 5 others to the Talanta Hela Council
The court observed that the petition was challenging appointments that had already been revoked, rendering the issue moot.
According to the judge, the appointments in question had been legally revoked, making it unnecessary to pursue the petition further.
"The petitioner claimed that the Talanta Council and its Technical Committees had been re-established illegally but in the light of a formal gazette notifying the general public of their revocation, the Petitioner’s claim flies in the face," ruled Justice Mugambi.
Azziad Nasenya & 4 other names that Ababu appointed to the Talanta Hela Council
Sports CS Namwamba had made several appointments to bolster his youth strategy. These appointments included notable figures such as Azziad Nasenya, Dennis Itumbi, Rosemary Wahu Kagwi, Jimmi Gathu, and Carol Radul, who were appointed to the Talanta Hela Council.
However, in June 2023, Ababu Namwamba decided to revoke the establishment of the Talanta Hela Council and its associated Technical Committees.
his decision was communicated through a Gazette Notice, effectively nullifying the previous gazette notice that had created these entities.
Petitioner's argument
The petitioner Charles Mugane stated the legality of the procedure based on national values and principles of governance components such as public participation, transparency, accountability, and good governance.
"Certainly, no selection process has been shown of how the eleven were arrived at from the massive eight million Kenyans on the TikTok platform where the appointees appear to have been drawn from.
"Your actions above are a blatant disregard of the law, which our client shall not countenance," the petition reads in part.
Charles argued in his petition that the appointments were made as a form of favour to political allies and that this was done at the expense of the limited public funds, which is a clear breach of the public trust.