State officers under fire over early 2027 campaigns

Two Speakers barred from campaigning, a sitting MP suing the entire Cabinet, the Head of Public Service facing court action, and Gachagua naming names, courts and politics collided this week over State officers in campaigns.

As President Ruto's administration intensifies development tours ahead of the 2027 General Election, Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Speakers of Parliament and other senior government officials have featured prominently at gatherings in counties including Nyandarua, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Kakamega, Kisumu, Migori, Siaya, Kiambu and Meru, fuelling a constitutional debate over whether officials are explaining government programmes or campaigning.

That debate reached the High Court this week after Justice David Mburu issued conservatory orders on Wednesday temporarily restraining National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula and Senate Speaker Amason Kingi from using the authority, prestige and influence of their offices to participate in partisan campaigns, pending determination of a petition by lobby group Vocal Africa.

"Pending the inter-partes hearing of this application, a conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the 1st and 2nd Respondents... from using, invoking, relying upon or benefiting from the authority, prestige, dignity, influence or incidents of their constitutional offices," Justice Mburu ordered.

The orders were issued after certifying as urgent a petition filed by lobby group Vocal Africa, arguing the two Speakers' campaigning for President William Ruto's 2027 re-election compromises Parliament's institutional independence and blurs the separation of powers.

Vocal Africa, through lawyer Ian Mutiso cites Wetangula's appearances in Likoni, Emuhaya and Eldoret, and Kingi's UDA mobilisation meetings in Mombasa and the Coast region, as breaches of Articles 73, 75 and 232 of the Constitution.

Chief executive, Hussein Khalid, said in a supporting affidavit that the case was filed strictly in the public interest, with neither the organisation nor himself standing to gain politically or financially from its outcome.

The Speakers' case is not isolated. Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, with former LSK vice president Mwaura Kabata, has a separate petition at Milimani targeting more than 20 Cabinet Secretaries and the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja

Filed through B. Kagunyi & Company Advocates, it challenges Section 25 of the Conflict of Interest Act, 2025, which exempts CSs and CEC members from the neutrality rule binding other state officers.

The two argue the exemption is discriminatory, citing footage of Cabinet Secretaries rallying support for Ruto's second term, including remarks attributed to the Energy CS in Bondo and the Foreign Affairs docket.

They want Section 25 declared unconstitutional and a permanent injunction stopping all state officers from campaigning.

A separate, earlier suit by Kituo Cha Sheria had already  asked the IEBC to police the same conduct, evidence of how the question of Cabinet campaigning has repeatedly returned to court since the 2022 election cycle.

Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) Secretary-General Stephen Mutoro has separately called for strict enforcement of constitutional provisions requiring political neutrality among State officers, arguing that public resources, including government vehicles, security personnel, official staff and taxpayer-funded events, should never be used to advance partisan political interests.

He has urged oversight agencies to enforce accountability, warning that blurring the line between government business and political campaigns erodes public confidence in State institutions. 

"Public resources exist to serve citizens, not political parties. Public office should never be converted into a campaign platform," Mutoro has argued in calling for stricter enforcement of constitutional standards governing State officers.

Cabinet Secretaries have become regular speakers during President Ruto's development tours, particularly in regions where by-elections are approaching or where the government is seeking to consolidate political support.

Among those who have frequently addressed public gatherings are Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho, Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.

Government officials maintain that such meetings are official development engagements intended to explain government projects, inspect ongoing works and account to wananchi on the implementation of the Kenya Kwanza agenda.

However, several lawyers including Advocate Mutiso on Tuesday this week stated that many of the gatherings have featured overt political messaging, including appeals for voters to support President Ruto's re-election in 2027 and Kenya Kwanza candidates in upcoming by-elections.

The dragnet widened further on Wednesday when three petitioners also moved to the High Court seeking to have Head of Public Service Felix  Koskei declared unfit to hold public office over his alleged involvement in 2027 campaigning.

The petition adds Koskei, Ruto's Chief of Staff and the most senior civil servant in government,to a list that now includes the two Speakers and the CSs named in the Owino-Kabata suit.

The case pushes the constitutional question further than the others: whether neutrality obligations reach beyond elected and appointed office-holders to the unelected officials running government's machinery.

Nowhere is the dispute more visible than in Nyandarua, where campaigning ahead of Monday's Ol Kalou by-election has drawn in a string of Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries.

Lands CS Alice Wahome, Tourism CS Rebecca Miano, ICT CS William Kabogo and Roads CS Davis Chirchir have all made appearances, alongside Lands PS Nixon Korir, Roads PS Joseph Mbua and Energy PS Kello Harsama, who have attended campaign activities and government events, including the distribution of subsidised LPG cylinders and Government of Kenya-branded mattresses in the constituency this month. 

Former CS Moses Kuria has also featured prominently at project launches, including the handover of a lands registry and title deeds.

Speaking at DCP headquarters on Friday, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua accused the officials of camping in Ol Kalou to influence Monday's vote.

"You have openly defied all odds to call to order an election of open bribery by the state," he said, invoking Articles 75 and 77 and Section 14 of the Election Offences Act, 2016.

He put government spending in the constituency at over Sh1 billion in cash and Sh10 billion in projects, and accused IEBC chairperson Erastus Ethekon of selective silence over violence in earlier by-elections in Mbeere North, Kasipul and Emurua Dikirr.

Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen hit back on Wednesday, accusing Gachagua of orchestrating fear and extortion against Mt Kenya businesses.

Gachagua also warned Murang'a Governor Irungu Kang'ata and the Linda Mwananchi movement off the race, prompting organisers to drop Ol Kalou from Sunday's tour itinerary.

At the centre of every petition is the same constitutional tension is Article 75 requires state officers to avoid conduct that compromises public confidence in their office, and Article 232 demands impartiality in public service.

But Section 23 of the Leadership and Integrity Act exempts Cabinet Secretaries and CEC members from the neutrality rule that binds everyone else, the exemption Owino and Kabata are challenging.

The Election Campaign Financing Act and Section 14 of the Election Offences Act separately restrict public resources and inducements during campaigns, provisions both Vocal Africa and Gachagua invoke from opposite sides of the divide.