The High Court has declined to halt the ongoing Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment saying public interest favors allowing the process to proceed as scheduled.
In his ruling, Justice Bahati Mwamuye noted that public interest supports an exercise designed to strengthen the country’s security and defense capabilities, pending the hearing and determination of the petition.
“The public interest would be significantly compromised if public authorities were placed in a position where alleged non-compliance with the Constitution and statute at the interlocutory stage in one of 47 counties has the same effect as having non-compliance in all 47 counties, that is, a halting of recruitment in all counties on the basis of allegations of non-compliance in one county,” said the judge.
The ruling follows a petition by Nineteen Nairobi legislators led by Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, and Woman Representative Esther Passaris. The lawmakers claimed that authorities discriminated against Nairobi by allocating only three recruitment centers to serve the entire county’s 17 sub-counties.
They argued that authorities would conduct the exercise at every sub-county level in other counties. The exercise started on October 13 and ends on October 25.
Justice Mwamuye observed that the Nairobi MPs should have demonstrated to the required standard that stopping the recruitment wouldn’t jeopardize Kenya’s national security. “They did not do so,” said the judge.
According to the judge, the MPs only stated that Kenya isn’t currently at war, and thus authorities can halt the recruitment exercise for a short time while the court determines the case.
“At this interlocutory stage, and absent a legally satisfactory counter, the public interest in maintaining a state of capacity and readiness that allows Kenya to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century security and defence environment and maintain the establishing ethos articulated in Article 239(2) of the Constitution cannot be gainsaid,” said the judge.
Justice Mwamuye asserted that while the court can halt the recruitment, it can only do so when the various aspects of public interest have been met.
“It is the finding of this Court that the petitioners/applicants have not met the requisite threshold under this limb and that the public interest favours the orders being sought being declined at this interlocutory stage,” added the judge.
Nonetheless, the judge agreed that the MPs had raised arguable issues that the court should address during the hearing.
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