A senior official at the Judiciary has accused the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) of deploying her out of Nairobi while a case in which she has sued the employer for keeping her in acting capacity for more than six years, is pending determination.
Dr Susan Oyatsi filed the case before the Court of Appeal after the JSC changed her status from acting director of finance to assistant director of finance.
The commission further deployed her to Kakamega law courts from Nairobi yet an appeal filed by the JSC is yet to be determined.
“I verily believe that the actions of the respondent are not legitimate or for a lawful purpose and are in fact vindictive actions meant to punish and oppress me for accessing the court to seek justice and succeeding in my claim against the respondent,” Dr Oyatsi says in an affidavit filed in court.
She says the decision to change her status and deploying her is in contempt of court and accused the JSC of assuming the powers of the court and deciding on the pending appeal.
Dr Oyatsi wants the court to issue interim orders, stopping the JSC from interfering with her rights as declared by the Employment and Labour relations court in March.
“That pending the hearing and determination of the intended appeal, an interim injunction order be granted restraining the respondent from acting on or enforcing its decisions imposed on the applicant in letters of 1st November 2022 and 3rd November 2022, respectively and any other related decision,” she said.
The finance official says the JSC is misusing a stay order it obtained last month, to infringe on her rights by prejudging the outcome of the appeal.
The employment court had on March 10 directed the JSC to confirm Dr Oyatsi as the director of finance. This is after she obtained orders blocking the JSC from conducting interviews to fill the position, which she had been acting for more than six years.
Justice Nduma Nderi also directed the JSC to pay Ms Oyatsi Sh13.6 million after ruling that she had been underpaid since 2018.
But the JSC went to the Court of Appeal and obtained an order suspending the decision, pending the determination of the appeal.
A bench of three judges said the JSC had demonstrated an arguable case as the appeal may be rendered useless if the decision made by the Employment and Labour court in March, is not suspended.
Dr Oyatsi says the actions by the JSC are meant to steal a match on the court process and that the commission was punishing her for seeking justice.
