Court Nullifies Ruto’s Appointment of Aisha Jumwa to Kenya Roads Board
Former Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa has been removed from her position as Chairperson of the Kenya Roads Board after the High Court declared her appointment unconstitutional.
President William Ruto had appointed Jumwa to the role through Gazette notices issued in January 2025. However, the appointment was challenged in court by activist Francis Owino, who argued that the process failed to meet constitutional and legal requirements.
In his ruling, Justice Bahati Mwamuye found that the procedure used to appoint Jumwa did not comply with the Kenya Roads Board Act and violated constitutional principles on transparency, accountability and fair administrative action.
The judge said there was no sufficient evidence showing that the appointment process had been conducted in line with the law before Jumwa assumed office.
The court further noted that publishing the appointment through a Gazette Notice could not validate a flawed process, describing the appointment as legally untenable.
“The resultant appointment was therefore unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void ab initio,” the court ruled.
Consequently, the court quashed Gazette Notice No. 384 dated January 16, 2025 and Gazette Notice No. 395 dated January 17, 2025, both of which formalized Jumwa’s appointment to the board.
Despite nullifying the appointment, the court declined to invalidate decisions made during Jumwa’s tenure, stating that doing so without assessing the impact of those decisions could affect actions undertaken in the public interest.
“It would not be reasonable or proportionate to quash all actions and decisions undertaken by the first respondent without knowing the status, nature and scope of those actions,” the court stated.
The judge also directed that any future appointment to the position must strictly comply with both constitutional standards and provisions of the Kenya Roads Board Act, including transparency, inclusivity, legality and procedural fairness.
