The High Court has ruled against the constitutional validity of the June 2023 recruitment drive, which aimed to hire 1,406 revenue service assistants.
Justice William Musyoka delivered the verdict, declaring the recruitment process unconstitutional due to its violation of laws concerning diversity and inclusion.
Justice Musyoka emphasized that the allocation of a substantial majority of the jobs to only two communities was inconsistent with constitutional principles, leading to a lack of equal treatment for a significant portion of the Kenyan population.
“An order barring the respondents from recruiting and appointing staff at all levels, until an ethnic diversity and regional balance policy is deployed, giving effect to the values and principles stated in the preamble and Article 232(g)(h) (i) of the Constitution, which policy should be in place within 30 days of this order,” Musyoka’s ruling reads.
As a result, the court has issued a directive prohibiting the tax authority from conducting any recruitment or appointments at all levels until a comprehensive ethnic diversity and regional balance policy is implemented.
The Judge specified that this policy must be deployed within the next 30 days, starting from March 1, 2024.