The High Court of Kenya has delivered a major blow to Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi. In a decisive ruling, the court temporarily suspended the recent appointments made to the Board of Directors of the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO).
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This judicial intervention follows a wave of public outrage and strategic legal challenges spearheaded by civic watchdogs. The central grievance alleges a blatant subversion of a competitive, transparent, and constitutionally mandated recruitment process.
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The suspension throws a spotlight on the friction between executive discretion and statutory guidelines within Kenya’s State Corporations. This development introduces a fresh wave of uncertainty for KETRACO, a vital infrastructure state enterprise tasked with planning, designing, constructing, owning, operating, and maintaining Kenya’s high-voltage electricity transmission grid.
The Genesis of the Dispute: A Tale of Two Parallel Processes
The roots of the current legal battle lie in what civil society groups have characterized as a “boardroom stitch-up” and a mockery of public accountability.
On May 18, 2026, the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury placed a public advertisement in national newspapers. Acting pursuant to Section 10 of the newly enacted Government-Owned Enterprises Act, 2025, the Treasury formally invited qualified and interested members of the public to apply competitively for vacant positions as Independent Directors across various state-owned enterprises—explicitly including KETRACO. The public notice signaled institutional seriousness, establishing a clear deadline for applications on May 29, 2026, at 5:00 PM.
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However, a dramatic twist occurred on that exact deadline day. While hopeful Kenyan professionals were submitting their applications, Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi quietly published Kenya Gazette Notice Nos. 8032 and 8033.
Timeline of Events (May 2026):
┌──────────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────────┐
│ May 18, 2026 │ │ May 29, 2026 │
│ National Treasury Ads │ │ Application Deadline │
│ Competitive Openings │ │ (5:00 PM) │
└────────────┬─────────────┘ └────────────┬─────────────┘
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────┐
│ │
┌────────────▼─────────────┐ ┌────▼─────────────────────┐
│ Public Submits Apps │ │ CS Wandayi Publishes │
│ Believing Process Fair │ │ Gazette Notices 8032/3 │
└──────────────────────────┘ └──────────────────────────┘
These gazette notices effectively bypassed the ongoing Treasury recruitment drive by making immediate, direct appointments to the KETRACO board:
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Gazette Notice No. 8032: Reappointed Mercylinnete Rotich and Janerose Gatwiri to the board for a further three-year term.
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Gazette Notice No. 8033: Appointed Nick Ochola as a brand-new board member for a three-year term.
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The overlap created a stark contradiction: while the government used the National Treasury to advertise an open, competitive process to the public, the Ministry of Energy was simultaneously concluding a parallel, closed-door appointment process for the exact same positions.
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Inside the High Court Ruling
Faced with this procedural anomaly, public interest litigants rushed to court. In a petition filed by activist Issa Elanyi Chamao, the High Court was asked to step in and protect the integrity of public institutional recruitment.
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The Conservatory Orders
Upon reviewing the petition, the High Court certified the application as urgent. The presiding judge granted sweeping interim conservatory orders aimed at preserving the status quo until the case could be fully heard and determined.
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The court ordered:
The Suspension of Gazette Notices: The immediate staying and suspension of the implementation of Kenya Gazette Notice Nos. 8032 and 8033.
Freezing of Board Resolutions: The temporary suspension of all board resolutions made by or in the physical presence of the three disputed appointees from May 29, 2026, onward.
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Bar from Affairs: An explicit directive barring Mercylinnete Rotich, Janerose Gatwiri, and Nick Ochola from participating in any official capacity regarding the administration or strategic oversight of KETRACO.
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The court ordered the petitioner to serve the application and the orders upon all named respondents within three working days. The respondents—including the Ministry of Energy and the Attorney General—were given seven days to file and serve their responses. The matter is set for a mention on June 24, 2026, for further directions.
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Why the KETRACO Board Appointments Face Constitutional Hurdles
The legal challenge mounted against CS Wandayi’s action is not an indictment of the individual professional qualifications or the integrity of the three appointees. Instead, it is a fundamental challenge against the process deployed by the Ministry of Energy.
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The petition argues that the direct appointments violate several core tenets of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, and modern corporate governance frameworks.
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1. Violation of the Government-Owned Enterprises Act, 2025
The core statutory pillar of the petition rests on the recently enacted Government-Owned Enterprises Act, 2025. Section 10 of this Act sets up a structured, independent mechanism for state corporate board recruitment: the Government-Owned Enterprises Boards Search and Selection Panel. By opting for direct gazettement while this exact panel was active and receiving public applications, the Energy CS allegedly overstepped his statutory boundaries and undermined an active legal framework.
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2. Breach of Article 232 on Values and Principles of Public Service
Article 232 of the Constitution mandates that public service must be guided by specific values, including:
Fair competition and merit as the basis of appointments and promotions.
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Representation of Kenya’s diverse communities.
Transparency and provision to the public of timely, accurate information.
The petitioner contends that inviting the public to apply for a role under the guise of fair competition, while secretly finalizing direct appointments behind closed doors, strips Article 232 of its functional meaning. It creates an unfair playing field where ordinary, qualified citizens are locked out of opportunities in favor of handpicked individuals.
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3. Fair Administrative Action (Article 47)
Under Article 47 of the Constitution, every Kenyan is guaranteed administrative action that is expeditious, efficient, lawful, reasonable, and procedurally fair. When a state agency advertises a public vacancy, it creates a “legitimate expectation” among applicants that their credentials will be evaluated fairly, transparently, and objectively. Bypassing the advertised criteria on the final day of submission without any public explanation or notice stands as a clear violation of fair administrative procedure.
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High Stakes: The Race for the KETRACO Chief Executive Officer
The suspension of the three board members comes at a highly delicate time for KETRACO. The board is currently tasked with an assignment of immense national importance: the recruitment and appointment of a substantive Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
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Why this matters: The KETRACO Board of Directors is not merely ceremonial. It holds the ultimate fiduciary responsibility for a multibillion-shilling electricity transmission empire. The board makes pivotal decisions regarding national grid expansion, infrastructure safety, and mega-energy distribution contracts.
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Civic watchdogs, including the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK), have raised concerns that an improperly constituted board lacks the legal, moral, and constitutional authority to oversee the selection of a substantive CEO. Allowing disputed board members to vote on or steer the recruitment of the corporation’s chief executive could taint the entire management structure of KETRACO, exposing it to subsequent litigation and institutional instability.
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A Recurring Pattern of Boardroom Warfare at KETRACO
This is not the first time in 2026 that KETRACO’s boardroom has been transformed into a legal battleground. In February 2026, the High Court issued similar interim conservatory orders halting the reconstitution of the board following a petition by activist Benjamin Okumu. That initial petition alleged severe violations of national diversity, claiming that the executive management and board structures disproportionately favored specific regions at the expense of national inclusivity.
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However, on March 18, 2026, High Court Judge John Chigiti struck out that earlier petition on a technicality, finding that the petition’s original legal counsel was a full-time public officer prohibited from private practice. That dismissal temporarily cleared the path for the Ministry of Energy to move forward with board management.
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The latest June 2026 injunction proves that the reprieve was short-lived. The underlying structural issues regarding how state corporations are managed, staffed, and overseen continue to attract intense public and judicial scrutiny.
The Broader Implications for Kenya’s State Corporations
The High Court’s decision to halt CS Wandayi’s appointments sends a powerful message to the entire Executive arm of government. It signals that the era of treating public advertisements as cosmetic “props” to satisfy procedural checklists while executing opaque political appointments behind closed doors face firm judicial resistance.
Key Takeaways from the KETRACO Board Impasse
Judicial Oversight: Courts are actively enforcing the provisions of the Government-Owned Enterprises Act, 2025.
Process Over Discretion: Cabinet Secretaries cannot easily bypass competitive, public recruitment panels once they are activated.
Civic Vigilance: Public interest litigation continues to act as a crucial check on executive overreach in state corporations.
As Kenya navigates critical infrastructure upgrades and seeks to stabilize its energy sector, adherence to the rule of law within state enterprises remains paramount. If citizens lose faith in the transparency of state appointments, it erodes public trust and discourages top-tier, uncompromised professionals from offering their expertise to the public sector.
The energy sector, international investors, and the Kenyan public will be watching the Milimani Law Courts closely on June 24, 2026, to see how the government defends its actions and whether the suspension will be extended into a permanent freeze.
Related Video Coverage
For a deeper dive into the ongoing political and legal battles surrounding these state appointments and related energy sector discussions, check out this LSK Petition and State Board Controversies Video. This broadcast outlines the broader legal challenges mounting against state appointments and public sector framework adjustments within the country.
BOMBSHELL: LSK New Petition In Court Seeks CS Mbadi & Wandayis Removal Over Plot To Bring Adani Back – YouTube
Kenyan Daily Report Tv · 3.3K views
