Former KDF officer sues President William Ruto
Former KDF officer sues President William Ruto over unlawful dismissal as Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) board chairman
Former KDF officer sues President William Ruto over unlawful dismissal as Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) board chairman.
Captain Paul Rukaria, a former officer in the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF), has filed a lawsuit against President William Ruto and Attorney General Justin Muturi for unfair dismissal.
Only four days before the August 9 general elections, on August 5, 2022, former President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed Rikaria to the position of chairman of the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) board for a three-year term.
In a gazette notice published on February 6, 2023, President William Ruto revoked his appointment, replacing him with Hussein Tene Debasso, a candidate for the governorship of Isiolo in 2022.
Now, according to Rikaria, his appointment was revoked without any input from the State Companies Advisory Committee.
“Section 7 (3) of the State Corporations Act is clear that before the President can revoke the appointment of any Board member, there have to be cogent reasons for the said revocation and that the same must be subjected to consultation with the state Corporation Advisory Committee,” Rukaria argues.
He claimed that by rescinding his appointment, the First in Command violated the Constitution and that the President had no capacity to appoint Debasso because at the time there was a substantive office holder of the position.
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“In line with principles of good governance and accountability. I was neither notified nor informed of the impending de-gazettement and had to embarrassingly found about the same from social media and incessant calls from friends and relatives. Needless to say, no reasons were given for the said prejudicial action,”Rukaria claims.
Rukaria now wants his successor’s appointment to be postponed until the suit is heard, and then nullified so that he can be reinstated.
According to him, the President can only revoke a board member’s appointment if the President is satisfied (for compelling reasons) that the member has failed to carry out his/her functions in the national interest and if the member ceases to hold office.
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