A Nairobi advocate has asked the Employment and Labour Relations Court to stop the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) from filling several senior positions, arguing that the college did not follow constitutional and public service requirements in advertising them.
Advocate Charles Mugane filed a constitutional petition challenging two job advertisements, issued on October 5 and October 21, 2026, for teaching and non-teaching posts. He is acting through Mugane Law LLP.
The respondents are KMTC, the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Attorney General. The Secretary to the State Corporations Advisory Committee is listed as an interested party.Lawyer Charles Mugane has moved to court seeking to stop the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) from proceeding with the recruitment of several senior officers.
Mr Mugane wants the court to declare the recruitment unconstitutional and unlawful. He argues that KMTC did not follow its own human resource policies and the guidelines on appointments to public service positions. The allegations are his, and the college has not yet responded in court, according to the information available.(Education News Kenya — https://educationnews.co.ke/news/petition-filed-to-stop-kmtc-recruitment-of-senior-officers-alleging-breach-of-public-service-rules)
The main dispute is over an internal advertisement published on October 21. It invited applications for two Chief Principal Lecturer posts, five Senior Principal Lecturer I posts and 10 Senior Principal Lecturer II posts.
The petitioner says KMTC's Human Capital Management Policies and Procedures Manual requires the teaching posts to be advertised externally, so that recruitment is open, competitive, fair and merit-based. He argues that limiting the vacancies to internal candidates could deny qualified people outside the college a chance to compete.
He has also questioned the decision to offer the Chief Principal Lecturer posts on permanent and pensionable terms. In his view, they should be filled on contract terms under the applicable PSC guidelines and KMTC policies.
Mr Mugane also challenges the October 5 external advertisement for one Senior Assistant Director post in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and two Assistant Director posts in Human Resource Management.
He alleges that additional master's degree requirements for these posts are inconsistent with existing human resource policies and PSC guidelines. According to the petition, changes to human resource instruments should follow consultation with affected stakeholders, including employees and trade unions. He argues that the new requirements could disadvantage qualified candidates and favour those who meet the new criteria.
The petitioner is asking the court to quash both advertisements and direct KMTC to carry out a fresh recruitment in line with the Constitution, relevant laws and public service regulations.
He has also asked for urgent interim orders suspending the advertisements and the recruitment process until his application and the petition are heard and decided.
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