Court Rejects Former President Ruto’s Advisers’ Bid To Return To Office
News Updated: 03 February 2026 14:38 EAT
The High Court has dismissed an application by 21 former presidential advisers seeking to return to office for six months to complete handover processes after their appointments were earlier declared unconstitutional.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye said the application was legally baseless and unfounded, noting that it raised issues already conclusively determined in an earlier judgment. The advisers had requested a 180-day stay of the court’s January ruling, which invalidated their appointments on grounds of unconstitutionality.
The judge held that the application did not introduce new evidence or legal issues and was therefore res judicata, meaning the matter had already been judicially decided. The court also declined to suspend or review the previous judgment that nullified the creation and staffing of the presidential advisory offices.
That earlier ruling found that the advisory positions were established without following mandatory constitutional and statutory procedures, including proper recruitment, public participation, and approval on remuneration and budgetary implications.
The advisers argued that a stay was necessary to allow them to hand over duties and prevent disruption to government operations while pursuing an appeal.
Civil rights group Katiba Institute opposed the application, stating the advisers lacked any legal basis to seek a stay and that dissatisfaction with a judgment can only be addressed through a higher court. The organization also questioned why the advisers, rather than the Attorney General, were fronting the application if government disruption was a genuine concern.
The court ruling reinforces the judiciary’s insistence on strict adherence to constitutional processes in the creation and staffing of public offices.
Following the decision, the advisers’ legal team indicated plans to appeal to the Court of Appeal after exhausting their recourse at the High Court.
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FELIX MAKONA
FACT FINDER AND DATA DRIVEN JOURNALIST. DATA MINING AT IT'S BEST. GET FACTS RANGING FROM MATTERS DISABILITY AND INCLUSION, POLITICS, ECONOMY, SPORTS AND GENERAL NEWS AROUND THE WORLD