Questions over missing records at the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) have deepened a dispute over recruitment of the State agency’s next director-general, with the High Court pointing out that the matters raised require a full hearing.
The court noted that the petitioners had complained that KCAA had not produced Board minutes, a resolution, meeting agenda or attendance records to substantiate claims that the decision to begin recruitment of the director-general was made when the Board had enough members present to make binding legal decisions.
KCAA, however, maintains that its Board approved recruitment on April 17, 2026, when it was properly constituted.
Responding to a petition challenging the recruitment of a new director-general, KCAA told the court that the process was later placed on hold after the terms of independent directors expired, pending reconstitution of the Board.
However, the court said no resolution had been presented to demonstrate that recruitment had actually been halted. It has consequently stopped KCAA from advertising, processing or concluding the recruitment until the Board is fully constituted or the petition is determined.
‘A conservatory order is issued staying the implementation of the resolution of the first respondent’s (KCAA) Board of Directors to advertise, commence, process, or conclude the recruitment process for the position of Director General of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, pending the full hearing and determination of the Petition or until the Board is fully constituted, whichever comes first,’ said the court.
Noting that KCAA acknowledged that it could not exercise statutory functions until the Board is fully constituted in accordance with section 17 of the Civil Aviation Act, the court also issued an order restraining the Board from transacting statutory business requiring mandatory quorum unless and until the Board is lawfully constituted.
The dispute followed the departure of Emile Nguza Arao, whose tenure as director-general ended on April 22. KCAA subsequently appointed Nicholas Bodo as acting director-general while it sought a substantive successor. KCAA announced Bodo’s appointment on April 23 and said he would provide continuity as the authority recruited a permanent holder.
The petitioners, Humphrey Bulimu and Charles Mutyetu, want the recruitment declared unlawful and the Board restrained from concluding it until lawfully constituted. They seek orders requiring vacancies to be filled through an open, transparent and competitive process.
They challenge the composition of the KCAA Board, the tenure of board member Anne Too and the manner in which the director-general recruitment was initiated.
The petitioners argue that the Board requires six members for quorum under the Civil Aviation Act and that several independent members’ terms expired on April 20. They also contend that Ms Too’s tenure ended on the same date because she replaced a former member for the remainder of that member’s term.
KCAA disputes that position. Its lawyers told the court that Ms Too was appointed on October 24, 2025, for a three-year term. They further challenged the qualifications, saying a four-week leadership course required under KCAA’s 2025 Career Guidelines was treated as an added advantage and computer proficiency was omitted.
KCAA defended the email address as an official recruitment portal and said the leadership course was not a mandatory statutory requirement under Section 19(4) of the Civil Aviation Act.
The court rejected the jurisdiction objection at this stage, holding that the dispute concerned public law questions over Board composition, statutory compliance and governance. The judge found the petitioners had the capacity to file the case under Article 258 of the Constitution.
On recruitment, the court found that the allegations raised substantive issues requiring examination at the full hearing.
‘I find that the petitioners have demonstrated that they have a prima facie case requiring full judicial examination,’ the court said. The judge noted that no Board resolution had been presented to show that the recruitment process had been halted.
‘It is therefore this court’s finding that the public interest heavily favours the proposition that a director-general should be appointed strictly in accordance with the law and constitutional values,’ the court said.
The court found that allowing recruitment to continue could undermine the petition because an appointment could be completed before the court determined its legality.
‘Reversing an executive appointment after an individual has gone through a rigorous process of being shortlisted, interviewed and assumed office creates administrative chaos, legal uncertainty and complex unwinding liabilities to the citizen taxpayer,’ the court said.
The court said an acting director-general was already in place, meaning that the order would not disrupt KCAA’s operations.
It therefore restrained the Board from conducting statutory business requiring a mandatory quorum until it is lawfully constituted. It also declined to determine Anne Too’s fate before hearing the petition.
KCAA regulates aviation safety and security, provides air navigation services and oversees civil aviation standards. The petition is set for pre-trial directions on October 6, 2026.