A High Court in Busia has ruled that the recruitment of 1,406 revenue service assistants by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) was unconstitutional. While making the ruling, the court agreed with the complainant that there was a disproportionate representation of only two ethnic communities.
The decision came following a petition filed by Peter Kabinga on October 12, 2023, who argued that out of the total recruits, 785 were from two specific communities in Kenya, while only 621 were from other communities across the country.
In his petition, the complainant named Engineer Anthony Mwaura, the Chairman of the KRA Board of Directors, and Humphery Wattanga, the KRA Commissioner General, as respondents in the petition.
Kabinga pointed out that Eng. Mwaura, who is from Thika, Kiambu, with roots in Kiharu, Murang’a, had overseen a recruitment process that significantly favored these two areas over others.
For instance, Thika town constituency received 50 slots, and Kiharu constituency got 40 slots. However, other areas like Kitutu Chache, Funyula, Kisumu East, Bomachoge Borabu, and Teso North only received one slot each.
Eng. Mwaura defended the recruitment process, stating that due to the large number of applicants, physical interviews were not feasible, leading them to conduct aptitude tests instead.
The engineer further emphasized that recruitment was based on merit determined by the aptitude test scores, with consideration for regional balance and ethnic diversity following thereafter.
The High Court however disagreed with this assertion and concluded that the recruitment exercise violated the preamble of the Constitution. It therefore deemed the recruitment process unconstitutional.
Justice William Musyoka ordered KRA to halt all recruitment activities until a policy ensuring ethnic diversity and regional balance, as outlined in the constitution, is implemented.
