The Computer Society of Kenya

Since 1986

TiampatipxDAILY NATION By LILIAN OCHIENG

Friday July 17,2015

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday rejected a government attempt to keep the disbanded Communications Authority of Kenya board in office pending an appeal.

Justices Sankale ole Kantai, E. M. Githinji and J. Mohammed on Wednesday declined to grant the board a stay. They, however, issued orders that would allow the ICT Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i more time to begin recruiting new board members pending a final ruling this month.

The move leaves the appointment of the CA Director-General Francis Wangusi in balance, as he was hired when the board had been disbanded, making their decision void.

“There is a high likelihood that most of the board’s decisions will be challenged,” said Anthony Kabathi, a lawyer for the complainant, Mr Kamotho Njenga, who first initiated the case against the CA board.

Mr Kabathi had earlier said that where the court decides that the board does not exist, every other major and minor decision made by the board is challenged.

FOLLOW IMMEDIATELY

By law, if the expected July 24 ruling goes against the government, the recruitment of board members must follow immediately to enable sound decision-making at the CA.

A fresh process must also start to have a new director-general in place since all activities of the board are declared null. Dr Matiang’i and the CA moved to both the High Court and the Court of Appeal to challenge the ruling, saying it was wrong on law and facts.

The battle fought at the High Court was lost, with Justice George Odunga declining a request to set aside the initial ruling in May that disbanded the board.

The defendants in the case have argued that the order by the High Court disbanding the seven-member board is so hostile that the judgment would have serious economic repercussions if not reviewed.

The case was filed by the secretary-general of the ICT Association of Kenya, Mr Kamotho Njenga, on October 24, 2014.

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