The Employment and Labour Relations Court has issued interim orders halting the appointment of John Burugu Njuguna as the Secretary for Refugee Affairs. The suspension comes amid legal challenges questioning the transparency and legality of the recruitment process.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) had directed the Ministry of Interior’s State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services to appoint Njuguna to the post for a three-year term. A letter dated July 3, 2024, outlined Njuguna’s expected monthly salary, ranging between Ksh.130,160 and Ksh.335,450.

However, court records indicate that the PSC may have defied earlier judicial orders. On January 29, 2025, Justice Mathews Nderi Nduma had issued an interim ruling prohibiting recruitment or interviews for the same position, pending a full hearing scheduled for February 18, 2025. The petition, filed under a certificate of urgency by Stanley Kyalo Muli, challenges the procedural fairness and compliance of the PSC’s hiring process.

The controversy further deepened following Njuguna’s earlier appointment as Acting Commissioner for Refugee Affairs by former Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki. Notably, Njuguna reportedly did not resign from his position at the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC), to which he had been appointed in 2020.

In a recent development, Immigration Principal Secretary Dr. Belio Kipsang instructed Njuguna to vacate his current post and return to IGRTC—a directive Njuguna criticized as irregular, asserting he had not received any remuneration from the Department of Immigration during his tenure.

The case remains ongoing, with both parties set to present their arguments in court.