A petition against the appointment of the Kenya Shipyards Ltd (KSL) management is back in court barely three months after it was thrown out.
Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge Byram resuscitated the case by setting aside an earlier ruling.
“The order given by the court on April 28 that the petition is dismissed or struck out on account the petitioner does not exist is hereby set aside,” said the judge.
In the case, the Commission for Human Rights and Justice (CHRJ) has sued KSL, State Corporation Advisory Committee and Inspectorate of State Corporation over the appointment of the facility’s board of directors.
The organization wants the court to nullify the appointment of the board of directors of KSL on grounds that the same was done in violation of the law.
The appointment was done by the Defence Cabinet Secretary but the petitioner alleges that the same, including appointment of the KSL Managing Director, was done in disregard of the law and, therefore, the deployment is null and void.
According to the petitioner, proper procedures were not followed while the ministry was making the appointment as it contravened Article 10 and 242 of the Constitution.
The provisions cited as having been contravened call for transparency and accountability in the public service, which includes state organs and state corporations.
However, the committee and the inspectorate opposed the petition questioning the court’s jurisdiction to handle the dispute and the existence of the petitioner.
The committee argued that it has an alternative dispute resolution process with powers to review and investigate the affairs of the state corporations and make recommendations to the President
“The committee has an internal dispute resolution mechanism that enables the public to lodge complaints and ensure that such disputes are handled expeditiously within seven days,” says the committee through the office of the Attorney General.
And in April, the court struck out the case after considering the submissions by KSL but the petitioner, through its director Julius Ogogoh returned to the court for a review of the orders that threw out his case.
KSL, which is the first public shipyard in Sub-Saharan Africa, was opened by President Uhuru Kenyatta last December last year. The facility was launched to repair, maintain and service boats and also to construct new ships and boats locally.
KSL has the capacity of building ships that are 150 meters long, with a tonnage capacity of 4,000 tons. KSL currently manages the Kisumu and Mombasa Shipyards.
