The High Court in Milimani has quashed the nomination of Emily Mwende Waita, John Kioli, Umra Omar and George Odera Outa as members of the National Climate Change Council.
Delivering the ruling on Friday, May 2, 2025, Justice Lawrence Mugambi stated that their nomination to the council by President William Ruto was unlawful.
Additionally, Justice Mugambi stated that the nomination process was not conducted through public participation.
“The process of their nomination was unlawful; it did not comply with the principle of public participation as required by the constitution,” Justice Mwamuye ruled.
He also stated that there was no clarity on who among the nominees represents the larger civil society working on climate change as per the Act.
Notably, Justice Mugambi has issued an order to the relevant committee to conduct a fresh nomination process within 90 days and ensure that the whole process follows the constitution.
He issued an order barring the four from assuming office.
The nominees argued that the Climate Change Act does not outline a procedure for selecting representatives from marginalised communities.
Notably, they stated that the Climate Change Act does not show how to select a nominee from the marginalized community however they were silent on how the public participation was done.
Mt Kenya Network Forum and the Indigenous People National Steering Committee on Climate Change (IPNSCCC) moved to court challenging the nomination of the four to the National Climate Change Council.
They noted that the civil society organisations working on climate change in Kenya were excluded from the process.
In their petition, they argued that there was no public participation as required by the constitution with the court noting that this was a threat to the constitution and hence warrants the intervention of this court.
Further, they claimed that the positions were not advertised as required by law.
The court dismissed the respondents’ argument that the petition challenging the appointments of the four is premature is unsustainable.
President William Ruto appointed the four nominees in 2023 as part of his administration’s efforts to combat the effects of climate change.
However, Justice Mugure Thande suspended the nomination of the four and directed that Kenyans be given a chance to participate by giving their views on them.
The National Assembly, through its departmental committee on Environment, and the Senate, through the Standing Committee on Lands, invited the public to give their opinions on the suitability of the nominees.
The Climate Change Act was enacted into law in 2016, and the council is tasked with managing climate change funds, regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and integrating climate change into national policies, including education.
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