Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has headed to court to apply to prevent Cabinet Secretaries and senior State officials from engaging in politics because their actions undermine public service neutrality.
In a petition filed with the Milimani Law Courts, Owino accompanied by Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Vice President Mwaura Kabata is calling on the court to temporarily put on hold the application of Section 25 of the newly enacted Conflict of Interest Act, 2025.
The two claim that the provision is unconstitutional, discriminative, and undermines the political impartiality expected from public officials.
The Attorney General, Cabinet Secretaries, and senior government officials are being targeted directly by the petitioners, who seek to have them barred from participating in political campaigns or pronouncing themselves in support of any political party until the case is heard and determined in its entirety.
By a certificate of urgency, the court is being prayed for by the petitioners to issue immediate conservatory orders to bar continuing breaches of the law.
The withholding of Cabinet Secretaries and members of the County Executive Committees from prohibition of the other State officers is discriminatory and in express violation of Article 75 of the Constitution,” the petition argues in summary.
The case is about a political rally conducted in Kieni, Nyeri County, on April 2, where some top State officials were observed engaging in partisan political matters.
According to Owino and Kabata, this is a clear demonstration of how already the law is eroding the autonomy of public service institutions.
They argue that the authorization of elderly government officials to engage in politics triggers a conflict between political ambitions and public service an act they find violates the Leadership and Integrity Act (2012) and the Constitution.
The petitioners are seeking the court to declare Section 25 of the Act unconstitutional, null, and void, and issue a permanent injunction against State officers from engaging in political campaigns or related activities.
Labeling the situation a matter of high public interest, Owino and Kabata urged the Judiciary to act swiftly in safeguarding constitutionalism, rule of law, and independence of Kenya’s public service.
The controversial Section 25 of the Conflict of Interest Act, 2025, which took effect on August 19, requires public officers to remain politically neutral.
Yet it leaves out Cabinet Secretaries and members of County Executive Committees issuing them a license to conduct political business, an activity opponents allege opens the floodgates to politicization of the civil service.
