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The Employment and Labour Relations Court has invalidated the appointment of Bernice Sialaal Lemedeket as Principal Administrative Secretary and Accounting officer of the National Police Service (NPS).
Justice Byram Ongaya in a ruling on Tuesday July 25 stated that President William Ruto did not initiate public participation while creating the position.
“His Excellency the President did not initiate public participation on the function and creation of the office of Principal Administrative Secretary (hereinafter PAS). The Position of PAS does not exist both in the constitution of Kenya and the law and is contrary to Article 155(2) of the constitution,” read the ruling in part.
Justice Ongaya also ruled that the creation of the office of PAS is a waste of public resources as the role is supposed to be performed by the Principal Secretary of the relevant State department.
“The creation of the office of PAS is a waste of public resources since the 52nd interested party would be accounting officer, work which is supposed to be performed by the principal secretary in the relevant state department, “he added.
File image of Silaal Lemekedet
The ruling follows a petition filed by Dr. Magare Gikenyi, a Nakuru-based surgeon.
The Attorney General’s office while defending Lemedeket’s appointment claimed that the PAS position was created legally and filled competitively. The AG noted that the PAS position was formed to deal with the financial accounting issues at the Service.
Lemekedet was appointed to the position by President William Ruto on November 2, 2022 in a move to grant the NPS financial autonomy.
Before the appointment, she served as the Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at the Kenya Pipeline Company Corporation Foundation. She has also served as an advisor for the University of Maryland Global Initiative Kenya.
Lemekedet boasts over 12 years of experience in the development field with vast experience in community networking and partnership development.
Here is the full ruling:
