Five months after the High Court dismissed the appointment of 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs) as unconstitutional, President William Ruto has moved to entrench the positions in law by amending the National Government Administration Laws.

The amendment bill, tabled just a week before the Court of Appeal rules on the matter, is sponsored by Majority Leader at the National Assembly Kimani Ichung’wah and seeks to provide for the establishment and functions of the Head of the Public Service and offices of CASs.

The bill also proposes to amend the National Security Council Act, 2012, to provide for the appointment of the National Security Advisor and also remove the Attorney General as the custodian of the public seal.

Ichung’wah, who published the bill yesterday, said the government is keen to formalise the positions and have legible individuals appointed. “We are bringing a procedural motion to pass the bill which seeks to entrench CASs as public officers.”

Yesterday, Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Eric Theuri said the latest move is still unconstitutional and vowed to return to court should the proposal sail through Parliament.

“The amendment is unconstitutional because the CAS is a political office that cannot be created in law, by whatever means. An office in the public service can only be below the PS,” Omtatah told People Daily.

Theuri said Parliament has no power to create the office as it purports to do vide amendment. “And since the amendment is outside the PSC Act, the office is outside the public service.

In any case, they are only skirting around, but have not complied with the High Court ruling that it is anchored in the Constitution,” he said.

President Ruto last year picked 50 individuals to the position of CASs but they were later stopped from assuming office by the High Court. The Attorney General has, however, appealed the ruling in the Court of Appeal which is set to rule on the matter next week.