NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 13 – A public interest petitioner has moved to the High Court seeking urgent intervention over alleged ethnic imbalance in senior leadership at the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO).
In a constitutional petition filed under a certificate of urgency at the Constitutional and Human Rights Division in Nairobi, Benjamin Okumu accuses the KETRACO Board of Directors of presiding over recruitment and appointment processes that have resulted in disproportionate representation of one ethnic community within the State corporation’s top management.
According to court documents, several senior executives were removed and replaced shortly after the current Board took office, leading to five out of nine executive committee positions being held by individuals from a single ethnic community—about 63 per cent of KETRACO’s executive leadership.
The petition further alleges that Mercelinet Chepkirui, who chairs the KETRACO Board’s Human Resource and Remuneration Committee, has played a central role in the disputed recruitment decisions.
Okumu claims that all General Managers who are non-Kalenjin were either dismissed or replaced with individuals from the Kalenjin community, resulting in what he terms a deliberate pattern of ethnic exclusion.
Okumu argues that the appointments violate Articles 10, 27 and 232 of the Constitution, which require inclusiveness, equality, non-discrimination and fair representation of Kenya’s diverse communities in public service.
He maintains that the recruitment of the Managing Director and General Managers is conducted solely by the Board through its Human Resource and Remuneration Committee, and that the uniformity of outcomes raises serious constitutional concerns that cannot be explained by coincidence.
The petitioner clarifies that he is not accusing any individual appointee of personal wrongdoing, but is instead challenging the recruitment process and its outcomes, which he says are constitutionally defective.
The court has also been told that the leadership changes have had serious operational and financial consequences for KETRACO, including loss of institutional memory and exposure to garnishee proceedings arising from a prolonged dispute with a foreign contractor.
Okumu contends that the resulting instability has triggered hurried financial decisions that risk public funds and threaten the effective operation of the national electricity transmission network.
He has urged the court to treat the matter as urgent, noting that the tenure of the current KETRACO Board is due to lapse in February 2026, raising concerns that members could be reappointed or have their terms extended before the constitutional issues are resolved.
The petitioner is seeking conservatory orders barring any reappointment or extension of the Board’s tenure pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Among the remedies sought are declarations that the impugned appointments are unconstitutional, orders quashing the appointments, and directions compelling KETRACO to reconstitute its senior management in compliance with constitutional principles on diversity and inclusiveness.
He has further asked the court to direct oversight agencies—including the Public Service Commission, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission and the Commission on Administrative Justice—to conduct an independent audit on diversity and inclusiveness at KETRACO and report back to the court.
