The ODM party has protested a move by the UDA party to appoint public officers to party positions.

ODM says the appointment of KRA boss Anthony Mwaura to head its National Elections Board, and KPLC chairperson Joy Mdivo to Internal Dispute Resolution Committee is a recipe for chaos. 

ODM also argues that the move is contrary to the Ethics and Integrity Act. 

In a NEC meeting, ODM resolved to push for the resignation of the two from their offices or drop the offer by UDA.

“We are not going to allow civil servants to engage in politics...this is backward,” ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna said.

ODM says attempts by UDA to have Mwaura and KPLC board chair Joy Mdivo participate in politics will be unconstitutional.

“They either take the UDA offer or go back to their offices,” Sifuna added.

UDA has already sworn in the elections team notwithstanding the protest.

“We have sworn in the team this morning,” UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala who has written to Attorney General Justin Muturi seeking guidance on the matter.

In the letter, Malala relies on a judgment by the high court in a case filed by the Katiba Institute. The ruling says quote, “We find and hold that positions of chairpersons and members of boards of state corporations and parastatals are not offices in the public service.”

The UDA party in its letter argues that classifying chairpersons and board members of state corporations as public officers would bind them to strict recruitment provisions, thereby extinguishing the president’s flexibility inherent in their appointment.

The UDA Secretary General says embracing the perspective of the court ensures that state corporations remain agile, effective, and focused on their mandates without getting entangled in unnecessary bureaucratic complexities.

Malala in a letter to the Attorney General and copied to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Head of Public Service Felix Koskey, argues, “Considering the legal complexities, and by the way of this letter, the state law office is requested to vary its expert opinion on the accurate position in the legal and governance framework regarding the issues raised.”

However, the ODM team maintains, that state corporations that form the pillar of governance cannot be entangled in political party contests as it may affect public confidence.