A judge has upheld the appointment of Mohamed Osman Adan as the managing director of East African Portland Cement (EAPC).
Employment and Labour Relations Court judge Byram Ongaya ruled that Mr Adan was the only applicant to meet the 70 percent score threshold as prescribed in the company’s Human Resources and Procedures Manual.
“The court finds that the board’s recommendation that the 5th interested party (Mr Adan) be appointed the 2nd respondent’s managing director cannot be defeated upon the tests in Article 73(2) (a) on selection on the basis of personal integrity, competence, and suitability; and, Article 232 (g) on fair competition and merit as the basis of appointments and promotions,” the judge said.
Mr Adan’s appointment was challenged by lawyer Apollo Mboya, who alleged that the board of directors had overturned President William Ruto’s appointment of Bruno Oguda Obodha as MD of the cement firm.
However, the judge said that Mr Mboya had failed to challenge or fault the scoring of the candidates who attended the interviews, or the board's finding that Mr Adan was competitively and fairly found to be the only qualified candidate for the position.
Mr Mboya had submitted that in a presidential press release on December 20, 2024, Mr Obodha was announced as the company's managing director.
But, the company informed the court that it had written to the Trade and Investment Cabinet Secretary to seek clarification on the appointment.
The company maintained that the board did not in any way insubordinate or countermand the decision of the President or overturn the recruitment process and appointment of the company's MD in any way. The judge held that the notification did not appear to be about the appointment.
“The appointment decision per Article 135 not having been exhibited, it is doubtful, on a balance of probability, to find that indeed the President had made an appointment of the 4th interested party (Mr Obodha) as per the notification,” said the judge.
The court heard that the board invited candidates for interviews on November 22, last year and that three names were subsequently forwarded to the Trade Cabinet Secretary for appointment.
The court heard that Mr Obodha scored 64 percent, Dr Justus Mwangi (63.86 percent), and Mr Adan scored 88.4 percent.
The pass mark for the position of managing director, according to the HR manual, is 70 percent.
Mr Mboya, however, said the board appeared to countermand the decision of President Ruto in violation of the Constitution.
But, through lawyer Adrian Kamotho, the company urged the court to dismiss the case arguing that it was brought with ulterior motives and that Mr Mboya had not shown how his rights were violated when the board picked Mr Adan.
Mr Kamotho said the petition had been lodged in utter abuse of court, with an aim to irregularly influence the institutional processes of the company.
He explained that various court cases had been filed to challenge the recruitment and appointment following the advertisement.
He said that the company's letter to the CS was to clarify issues on behalf of the board, of matters which Mr Obodha ought to have disclosed during his interview but failed to do so.
Attorney General Dorcas Oduor stated that by the Notification of Presidential Action of December 20, 2024 was rescinded following due diligence on Mr Obodha in accordance with Chapter Six of the Constitution regarding leaders' integrity.
