The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has suffered a major setback after the High Court rejected its attempt to have a petition challenging the reinstatement of Director General George Njao dismissed
The petition, filed by Road Safety Authority Chairman David Kiarie questions the board’s decision to extend Njao’s term despite ongoing investigations into his conduct through Counsel Brian Ochola.
In his ruling Justice John Chigiti declined the NTSA board’s preliminary objection, which sought to have the case dismissed because the issues raised had already been dealt with in another forum.
Instead, the court set the judgment of the matter to May 20, 2025.
Kiarie argues that Njao’s reinstatement on May 4, 2023, was unlawful and should be quashed.
The documents sought in the matter were minutes of the board ratifying the reinstatement of Mr. George Njao and the investigation report by the board of directors.
Then, the chairman contends that the reinstatement violated constitutional principles including the tenets of accountability, transparency, and respect for the rule of law as outlined in Article 10 of the Constitution.
“The decision to extend Njao’s term without a full investigation into the rising number of road accidents is unconstitutional,” Kiarie argued in court documents.
He added that the move undermined public trust in the NTSA’s ability to uphold road safety standards.
Njao had been sent on a 30-day annual leave in March 2023 by the NTSA board, ostensibly to allow for investigations into the increasing number of fatal road accidents across the country and glaring malpractices within the road safety regulator.
Cosmas Ngeso was appointed to take over Njao’s responsibilities in the interim while the investigations were being conducted.
However, despite the ongoing probe, the NTSA board decided to reinstate Njao 10 days through what Kiarie argues was through the backdoor sparking the legal challenge.
In his petition, Kiarie has called for an order prohibiting the implementation of the NTSA board’s decision which allowed Njao to remain in office without the promised investigations being conducted and finalized.
“The board’s decision to reinstate Njao without carrying out the promised investigations into his role in the rising accidents is a breach of both the Constitution and the public’s right to know,” Kiarie says in his petition.
Kiarie is also seeking to quash the board’s decision to recall Njao from his annual leave, claiming that the action was done without due process and violated the NTSA’s own procedures.
He argued that the board had committed to conducting thorough investigations into the causes of the accidents but failed to uphold that commitment.
In its defense, the NTSA board, through its lawyers, argued that the petition lacked merit and should be dismissed.
The board raised several objections, including the claim that the issues raised had already been addressed in a separate legal proceeding.
Furthermore, the board argued that the court lacked jurisdiction over the matter, as the NTSA is not a body corporate or a juridical person who can be sued directly.
“The application as filed is incompetent and fatally defective for want of a proper respondent.
The NTSA board is not a legal entity capable of being sued in its name,” the board’s legal team stated in their submissions.
Despite these objections, Justice Chigiti ruled in favor of Kiarie and awarded him the costs of the suit, stating that the court has jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter.
The judge dismissed the preliminary objection by the board asserting that the case raised important legal questions that warrant a full hearing.
“Having found that the court is vested with competent jurisdiction to hear and determine this matter, and having found that the grounds of res judicata and mis-judice fail to anchor as grounds for a preliminary objection, the preliminary objection is hereby dismissed,” Justice Chigiti said in his ruling.
The judge also set a date for compliance and judgment to be May 20, 2022