Court annuls appointment of CCK boss Njoroge

The appointment of Charles Njoroge as the Director General of the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) has been reversed.

Justice Weldon Korir Thursday quashed the gazette notice published by Information minister Samuel Poghisio extending Mr Njoroge contract for a period of three years.

The judge faulted the minister for overruling the CCK’s board advice that Mr Njoroge had not met the minimal requirement set by the board.

“The minister only authenticates what the board has decided and he had no legal mandate to overrule the board’s position,” said judge Korir.

Mr Njoroge’s appointment was overturned following a petition by the Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) challenging it on grounds that it was unconstitutional and in breach of the law.

Justice Korir upheld Cofek’s argument that the minister did not comply with the law in making the re-appointment and that he ignored the decision and recommendation of the CCK board who advised against the renewal of Mr Njoroge’s contract.

Compulsory leave

The consumer federation had argued that the minister’s decision was irrational and capricious because he revoked the board’s decision to send Mr Njoroge on a two-week compulsory leave and the same time announced he will renew the contract of Mr Njoroge for an additional three years.

According to the petition, Mr Poghisio’s action contravened a circular by the then head of public service Francis Muthaura to all ministries giving guidelines on re-appointments chief executive officers of State Corporations.

The circular directed that any CEO wishing to be reappointed had to indicate interest by writing to the board at least six months before the expiry of his term.

It gave the board the mandate to evaluate the performance of the CEO and make a recommendation to the appointing authority on either renewal or termination of the contract upon its expiry.

The court observed that in the event that the board did not recommend renewal of the contract, the CEO was required to proceed on a terminal leave to pave way for the recruitment and appointment of a new CEO.

Judge Korir agreed with the petitioners that the minister’s action to ignore the board’s advice was tantamount to impunity, a development he said if not checked could set a bad precedent in corporate governance.

Cofek argued that the CCK board ought to have been allowed to recruit a suitable candidate for the office of director general because every citizen is affected by the sensitive regulatory decision made by the commission to determine the information disseminated to Kenyans.

Due process

They added that the commission plays a key role in regulating and upholding freedom and independence of electronic, print and other types of media therefore there was need to comply with the due process of the law in recruiting its director general.

As a result of Mr Poghisio’s decision overruling the board’s advice in reappointing the director general, the petitioners submitted that Mr Njoroge’s relationship with the board is not good thus affecting the operations and performance of CCK.

In March 2011, the CCK board wrote to the minister recommending that Mr Njoroge’s term should not be renewed due to a below par performance following an appraisal conducted in the wake of an application by the director general seeking renewal of his contract.

However, Information minister Samuel Poghisio overruled the board and formally confirmed Mr Njoroge as the director-general of the CCK through a gazette notice in July 29, after nearly four months of squabbles over his reappointment.