Court of Appeal temporarily suspends ruling declaring Ruto’s 21 advisers unconstitutional
Court of Appeal temporarily suspends ruling declaring Ruto’s 21 advisers unconstitutional
President William Ruto has received a major boost after the Court of Appeal on Friday temporarily suspended a High Court decision that had ordered the removal of his 21-member Council of Advisors.
The Court of Appeal ruled that dismissing the President’s advisors at this stage could disrupt the operations of his office, following an appeal filed by the office of the Attorney General.
This ruling effectively sets aside the High Court’s earlier decision, which had declared President Ruto’s appointment of 21 advisors last year unconstitutional until the appeal filed by the AG is heard and determined.
The AG had moved to court seeking a stay on the judgment and orders of Justice Bahati Mwamuye, which had ruled that the appointment of the President’s advisors was unconstitutional, pending the hearing and determination of the intended appeal.
“The 3rd to 23rd respondents (President’s advisors) were already rendering services to the public by the time the impugned judgment was delivered. There is therefore a likelihood of disruption to the functions of the Office of the President should the application be declined,” read part of the ruling delivered by a three-judge bench.
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Adding that, “Regarding the submission that allowing the advisors to continue serving would result in duplication of roles, we are of the opinion that this is an issue that should be determined during the substantive appeal. In the circumstances, we are satisfied that the applicant has met the threshold required for the orders sought.”
Previously, on January 22, Justice Mwamuye had issued an injunction preventing the government from processing any salaries or benefits to the appointed advisors.
With the Court of Appeal’s decision, the injunction is no longer in effect, allowing the Council of Advisors to continue serving and receiving their entitlements and engaging the President and the broad-based government in various matters.
However, it remains unclear whether the salaries of the affected appointees will be backdated, given that the High Court had earlier ordered the government to freeze the processing of their pay following the case that was filed by the Katiba Institute.
Following the ruling, lawyers involved in the case expressed concern over how the decision was delivered. Advocate Joshua Malidzo, who was part of the legal team representing Katiba Institute, said they had not been notified in advance of the ruling.
“The last time we were in court, we were informed that the ruling would be delivered on April 24, 2026. I am therefore surprised that it was delivered today, as we did not receive any notice of the delivery of the ruling or the ruling itself,” Malidzo said.
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