Court petition filed to stop KMTC hiring, citing unconstitutional process

Court petition filed to stop KMTC hiring, citing unconstitutional process

Mugane wants the court to declare the recruitment process unconstitutional and unlawful, arguing that the college failed to adhere to its human resource policies and guidelines governing appointments to public service positions.

A city lawyer has moved to court seeking to stop the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) from proceeding with the recruitment of several senior officers, accusing the institution of violating constitutional and public service requirements in its hiring process.

Advocate Charles Mugane has filed a constitutional petition at the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi, challenging advertisements issued on October 5 and October 21, 2026, for various teaching and non-teaching positions.

Mugane, through Mugane Law LLP, has sued KMTC, the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Attorney General, with the Secretary to the State Corporations Advisory Committee listed as an interested party.

He wants the court to declare the recruitment process unconstitutional and unlawful, arguing that the college failed to adhere to its human resource policies and guidelines governing appointments to public service positions.

At the centre of the dispute is an internal advertisement published on October 21, inviting applications for two Chief Principal Lecturer positions, five Senior Principal Lecturer I positions and 10 Senior Principal Lecturer II positions.

The petitioner argues that KMTC's Human Capital Management Policies and Procedures Manual requires the teaching positions to be advertised externally to allow for an open, competitive, fair and merit-based recruitment process.

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He contends that restricting the vacancies to an internal recruitment exercise could deny qualified candidates outside the institution an opportunity to compete for the positions.

Mugane has also questioned the decision to advertise the Chief Principal Lecturer positions on permanent and pensionable terms, arguing that they should instead be filled on contract terms in accordance with applicable PSC guidelines and KMTC policies.

The lawyer has further challenged the October 5 external advertisement for one Senior Assistant Director position in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and two Assistant Director positions in Human Resource Management.

He alleges that additional master's degree requirements introduced for the positions are inconsistent with existing human resource policies and relevant PSC guidelines.

According to the petition, changes to human resource instruments should be undertaken through a consultative process involving affected stakeholders, including employees and trade unions.

The petitioner argues that the disputed requirements could disadvantage qualified candidates and potentially favour applicants who meet the newly introduced criteria.

He is asking the court to quash both advertisements and direct KMTC to conduct a fresh recruitment exercise in compliance with the Constitution, relevant statutes and public service regulations.

Mugane has also sought urgent interim orders suspending the advertisements and recruitment process pending the hearing and determination of the application and petition.