In May, The High Court disbanded the Communication Authority of Kenya board in what was termed as irregularities in appointment. In quashing the gazette notice of the appointment , seven members of the board were affected, with the High Court stating that the appointments were done outside statutory timelines, effectively leaving the regulator without a board. The chairman of the board was however not affected by the decision of the Court.
The High Court decision stemmed from a suit filed by the Secretary-General of the ICT Association of Kenya questioning the intregrity of the recruitment process by a panel from Cofek, Kenya Private Sector Alliance, Law Society of Kenya and the Media Council of Kenya.The Kenya Information Communications (Amendment) Act of 2013 stipulates that the board members be selected by an independent panel independent of the government.
Subsequently, the ministry of ICT sought the suspension of the ruling by appealing the court decision. On Thursday, the Court of Appeal ruled that members of the board will continue holding office pending the determination of the court case. The court also allowed the management of the authority to proceed with the restructuring process, after the Court of Appeal stopped hiring following a suit by the authority’s former senior managers.
