Court stops hiring of TSC boss, again

 Recruitment of new TSC boss hit by fresh court setback. [File, Standard]

The recruitment of a new Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Chief Executive Officer has suffered yet another setback after the High Court issued orders halting the process, barely days after it had been cleared to proceed.

In orders issued on February 3, the High Court in Kiambu stopped the ongoing recruitment exercise, restraining the TSC from implementing or continuing with the process pending the hearing of a fresh application filed by Simon Kariuki Kimata.

Justice Dorah Chepkwony certified the application as urgent and issued conservatory orders barring the Commission from proceeding with the recruitment of the Secretary/Chief Executive Officer until the matter is heard and determined.

“That a conservatory order be and is hereby issued staying, suspending and restraining the 1st Respondent from implementing or continuing with the ongoing recruitment exercise of the Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the 1st Respondent pending the inter-partes hearing of the application,” the order reads.

Justice Chepkwony further directed that the respondents be formally served and respond within set timelines:

“The application shall be served upon the Respondents forthwith, and a response thereto be filed within seven (7) days of service,” the order reads.

The ruling deals a blow to the contest to appoint the 10th CEO in TSC’s history, an exercise that had resumed last week(Thursday) following the lifting of an earlier injunction that had frozen the process since May last year.

The position is among the most powerful in the public service, overseeing more than 400,000 teachers, controlling a wage bill running into hundreds of billions of shillings, and shaping key decisions on teacher recruitment, deployment, discipline and professional development.

The court directed that the application be served on the respondents within seven days, with written submissions to be filed and exchanged ahead of a highlighting session scheduled for March 5, 2026.

The delay comes at a critical time for the education sector, with the incoming TSC boss expected to steer the commission through staffing challenges associated with the transition to senior school, including shortages of teachers for newly introduced Grade 10 learning areas.

Several high-profile names have been linked to the race, including former KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion, former Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Jwan, and a number of senior TSC insiders.

Among them are Director of Staffing Antonina Lentoijoni, Finance Director Cheptumo Ayabei, Director of Quality Assurance and Standards Dr Reuben Nthamburi, and Head of Operations Gabriel Mathenge.