A constitutional petition has been filed at the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi challenging the recruitment process for several senior positions at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), with the petitioner alleging violations of constitutional and public service recruitment requirements.
Public interest litigation lawyer Charles Mugane, through Mugane Law LLP, filed the petition on October 28, 2026, naming KMTC, the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Attorney General as respondents. The Secretary to the State Corporations Advisory Committee is listed as an interested party.
The petition challenges recruitment advertisements published on October 5 and October 21, 2026, covering teaching and non-teaching positions at the college.
Dispute Over Internal and External Advertisements
According to Mugane, an internal advertisement published on October 21 listed two vacancies for Chief Principal Lecturer, five for Senior Principal Lecturer I and 10 for Senior Principal Lecturer II.
The positions were advertised on permanent and pensionable terms. However, the petitioner argues that KMTC’s Human Capital Management Policies and Procedures Manual requires the teaching positions to be advertised externally through an open, competitive, fair and merit-based process.
An earlier external advertisement, published on October 5, covered one Senior Assistant Director position in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and two Assistant Director positions in Human Resource Management.
Mugane argues that the different approaches to advertising the vacancies raise questions about the consistency, fairness and compliance of the recruitment process with the college’s human resource policies.
Petitioner Questions Qualifications and Terms of Service
The petition also challenges the advertised terms of service for the Chief Principal Lecturer positions, arguing that the roles should be filled on contract terms under applicable PSC guidelines and KMTC policies.
Mugane further alleges that additional master’s degree requirements introduced for the Senior Assistant Director, ICT and Assistant Director, Human Resource Management positions are inconsistent with the college’s existing human resource policies and relevant PSC guidelines.
He argues that amendments to human resource instruments should follow a consultative process involving affected stakeholders, including employees and trade unions.
According to the petition, the disputed recruitment requirements could disadvantage qualified candidates and potentially favour applicants who meet the additional qualifications.
The allegations are yet to be determined by the court, and the respondents’ positions were not provided in the documents available for this report.
Court Orders Sought
Mugane is asking the court to declare the recruitment process unconstitutional and unlawful, quash the advertisements published on October 5 and October 21, and direct KMTC to conduct a fresh recruitment exercise in compliance with constitutional, statutory and regulatory requirements.
He has also sought urgent interim orders suspending the advertisements and recruitment process pending the hearing and determination of the application and petition.
The petition invokes constitutional provisions relating to equality, fair administrative action, leadership and integrity, and the values and principles governing public service.
The filing does not, by itself, establish that the recruitment process was unlawful. Nor do the documents provided confirm that the court has granted the requested interim orders.
The court will determine the issues raised in the petition in accordance with the applicable law and the evidence presented by the parties.
