The Court of Appeal has declined to temporarily suspend a judgment that blocked the Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB) from implementing a new organisational structure, introduced last June.
Appellate court judges Fred Ochieng, Weldon Korir, and Joel Ngugi ruled that they did not see how KLB’s operations would be affected, as alleged, if the order quashing the structure was not suspended.
The corporation alleged that the Employment and Labour Relations Court created a vacuum that hindered its seamless operations by quashing the acting managerial appointments, which were made according to the approved Human Resource Instruments.
Justice Hellen Wasilwa quashed the structure last year saying they were not subjected to public participation and KLB staff were not involved in its formulation and development.
The KLB wanted the judgment suspended, pending the determination of the appeal arguing that the temporary appointees had already assumed their roles, accepted new job descriptions, and set performance targets.
The corporation said disrupting the arrangement risked halting its operations. However, the judges rejected the application stating that KLB did not provide details of how many appointments have been made under the quashed HR Instruments.
“Therefore, we fail to see how failure to grant the order of stay will halt the applicant’s operations. In other words, there is no evidence that the appeal will be rendered nugatory,” said the judges.
The corporation argued that the various roles created were critical in the publication and supply of learning materials to schools.
KLB added that the disruption of its operations would severely impact its revenue and operations, including the budgetary and contractual commitments based on the new structure.
The court was told that KLB was a self-sustaining State corporation that finances its operations internally and pays dividends to the Treasury, highlighting the need for profitability and competitiveness.
Further, being a statutory body involved in developing, publishing, and distributing primary and secondary school textbooks, it was in the public interest to suspend the judgment in order for the operations to continue seamlessly without interruption.
Ms Catherine Wanjiru Kerubo, who had challenged the new structure and Public Service Commission (PSC) opposed the application arguing that KLB had not demonstrated how the new organisational and grading structures would improve its performance.
Ms Kerubo said quashing the acting appointments did not create a vacuum in the KLB’s operations because the corporation has been utilising the skills and expertise of its senior management staff since 2018 and has posted commendable performance, as exhibited in its annual financial statements over the years.
PSC submitted that it had directed KLB to advertise the acting positions competitively, but the corporation failed to do as advised.
The commission added that it had not approved the KLB’s career guidelines by June 28, 2024, and there was no basis for the job purpose, functions, duties, responsibilities, and requirements for the acting appointments made thereafter.
