Intrigues in the battle for standards police role go on as consumers at risk
Part of an assortment of counterfeit goods worth Sh27.4 million impounded in Eldoret town.
Trouble at the National Standards Council has been brewing since 2019 when then Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya picked members to the board without allegedly subjecting them to competitive processes.
Then, Mr Munya named the seven members and the chairman Bernard Ngore through a gazette notice on November 14, 2019, for three years.
Mr Ngore defended their appointment saying it was above board, based on their performance in previous assignments and not out of favouritism as claimed by Okiya Omtatah.
The now Busia senator argued that Mr Munya handpicked board members without subjecting them to a transparent, competitive, and merit-based process as required by the Mwongozo circular.
The activist said the process was not open to public participation and that the jobs should have been advertised by the Public Service Commission (PSC) in a newspaper and its website inviting Kenyans to apply.
He said Mr Ngore was seriously conflicted in his regulatory functions because he is the founder and chief executive officer of Top Quality Motors Ltd, which is involved in importation of motor vehicle spare parts. He is also the immediate former chairperson of the Kenya Motor Repairs Association, he added.
Mr Omtatah said since NSC and Kebs executes important mandate, the chairperson and the independent members needed to be appointed strictly according to the Constitution and the law to ensure its autonomy from vested interests.
He said this will ensure that all players in the industry can have the full benefit of the law.
After hearing the case, Justice Maureen Onyango quashed the appointments and directed the government to repeat the process and ensure that the new chairperson as well as independent members of NSC are appointed strictly in compliance with the Constitution and the law.
The board, however, went to the Court of Appeal and got a temporary order allowing them to continue with their job, pending determination of the appeal.
A bench of three judges of the appellate court ruled that the absence of members of the NSC will expose Kenyans to the danger of consuming substandard products.
Justices Asike Makhandia, Jamila Mohammed, and Hellen Omondi said NSC is the body mandated to set standards, approve, certify and permit all manufactured, and imported goods and local produce to ensure that they meet set standards.
“This is a clear case of public interest prevailing over individual or personal interest. The appeal will further be rendered nugatory as the applicants will have to be replaced as the institution cannot run without substantive office bearers,” the judges said.
The NSC through lawyer Titus Koceyo has always maintained that the Mwongozo Code of Conduct for public service cannot override the Standards Act, which allows the board to pick the best.
Mr Koceyo said the NSC has been left without a functioning board of directors and as a consequence, there is no institution to undertake the vital roles the board was playing.
He said the lack of a board and a managing director to oversee standardisation and regulation of quality and standards of the products exposes the citizens at large to consumption of sub-standard goods and, which is a greater risk as the decision did not consider public interest.
Mr Munya’s successor at the ministry Betty Maina also supported the arguments saying the NSC cannot transact any business despite the huge expectations.
Other than Mr Ngore’s pick as the chairperson of the NSC, the court had also quashed appointments of Mary Wanja Matu, Helen Kabeti, Fouzia Abdirahman, Patrick Musiu, Edward Njoroge, Eric Mungai and Gilbert Lang’at.
The lawyer said if not suspended, the decision would create a monumental risk as to the safety of products consumed locally and the court did not consider the public interest the board was serving.
Mr Koceyo said the lack of a functioning board will affect production, manufacturing, and at large the business community.
Mr Omtatah opposed the application arguing that it would be contrary to public interest for the removed board to remain in office after being found by a court of law to have been recruited unconstitutionally. He said the members can be compensated by damages in case their appeal is successful.
“We agree with the applicants that this will expose the Kenya populace to the danger of consuming substandard products. This is a clear case of public interest prevailing over individual or personal interest,” said the judges. The judges said the appeal will further be rendered useless as the board will have to be replaced as the institution cannot run without substantive office bearers.
“In the circumstances of the present case, we are persuaded that the applicants have demonstrated the existence of an arguable appeal which will be rendered nugatory should stay not be granted,” the judges added.
The matter is still pending at the court of appeal.
