The High Court has blocked the ongoing process to recruit new commissioners for the National Land Commission (NLC), ruling that the move was unconstitutional and threatened the rights of current officeholders.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Chacha Mwita, the court declared that Commissioner Tiyah Galgalo Ali, MBS, is lawfully entitled to serve her full six-year term, which began on December 21, 2020, and will end on December 20, 2026.
The decision followed petitions filed by Tiyah Galgalo and Commissioner Esther Murugi Mathenge, who challenged a Gazette Notice and subsequent advertisements that declared vacancies in the positions of NLC chairperson and commissioners.
Justice Mwita ruled that although no actual violation had yet occurred, there existed a credible threat to the Constitution and the law, warranting judicial intervention.
“The court, having found a valid threat to the Constitution and the law, issues declarations even though an actual violation has not occurred,” Justice Mwita stated, allowing the petitions.
The court consequently quashed Gazette Notice No. 1121 of August 11, 2025, which had announced impending vacancies, as well as advertisements published in the Daily Nation on August 27, 2025, and the Standard on September 24, 2025, that sought to fill the same posts.
Further, the court barred the respondents and their agents from taking any steps to recruit or recommend new commissioners, or from interfering in any way with the petitioners’ current terms in office.
Justice Mwita also ordered that the same declarations and protections apply to Petition No. E646 of 2025, filed by Commissioner Esther Murugi Mathenge, reaffirming the independence of constitutional officeholders and the need to respect the duration of their legally provided terms.
