High Court Halts CS Wandayi’s Appointments To KETRACO Board
Opiyo Wandayi, the Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary, has faced a setback after the High Court temporarily blocked his appointment of certain board members to the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company.
On Wednesday, June 10, the court suspended Mercylinnete Rotich, Janerose Gatwiri, and Nick Ocholla’s appointments to the board pending the outcome of the hearing and determination.
The court issued the orders in response to a petition contesting the legitimacy of the appointments.
The petitioners claimed that the appointments were made outside of the current legislative framework governing appointments to state entities.
The High Court remains the custodian of the rule of law, good governance, and constitutionalism. Today, it has suspended the patently illegal decision of the Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum to appoint some board members of KETACO outside the prevailing legal… pic.twitter.com/kD0L7QgDhK— Peter Wanyama (@pwanyama) June 10, 2026
“Pending the hearing of the application, a conservatory order is hereby issued staying the implementation of Kenya Gazette Notice No. 8032 and Kenya Gazette Notice No. 8033 on 29th May 2026 and specifically restraining the trio from performing the functions,” the court directed.
In the ruling, the court also suspended all resolutions and decisions made by the KETRACO board in which the contested appointees participated until the matter is fully heard.
The petitioners, through their lawyer Peter Wanyama, told the court that the appointments did not comply with the procedures established under the law for the recruitment and appointment of directors to state corporations.
ALSO READ:
- High Court Halts CS Wandayi’s Appointments To KETRACO Board
- CS Ogamba Issues THREE Radical Changes After Rampant School Unrest
- US Sends Message To Kenya Over ‘Steadfast’ Ebola Partnership
- OFFICIAL: Former LSK President Joins Linda Mwananchi Movement
- Protests Erupt After Court Ruling On Gachagua Impeachment
They thus sought the court’s intervention to ensure that appointments to public institutions adhere to constitutional principles of transparency, accountability, and fair competition.
“KETRACO is not a minor parastatal. It is the strategic State enterprise responsible for planning, designing, constructing, operating and maintaining Kenya’s national electricity transmission infrastructure,” the petitioner argued.
“Allowing a compromised board appointment process to stand without judicial scrutiny means the same actors who made unexplained midnight gazette appointments could also influence who becomes KETRACO’s next substantive CEO.”
According to Gazette Notice 8032, the Energy CS had reappointed Mercylinnete Rotich and Janerose Gatwiri to the board for a further three-year term.
However, Wandayi, through a separate Gazette Notice 8033, appointed Nick Ocholla as a new board member for three years.
High Court Halts CS Wandayi’s Appointments To KETRACO Board
