The High Court has dealt President William Ruto a stinging legal blow, declaring the appointment of his 21-member Council of Economic Advisors unconstitutional and ordering an immediate halt to their salaries.

In a ruling that redefines the limits of executive power, Justice Bahati Mwamuye termed the appointments a "constitutional aberration" enacted in secrecy. The judgment essentially strips the President of his handpicked inner sanctum of strategists, raising urgent questions about the legality of decisions they have influenced and the growing friction between the Executive and the Judiciary.

The Constitutional Breaches

Justice Mwamuye’s judgment was scathing and unequivocal. He found that the creation of the advisory team violated Article 234 of the Constitution, which vests the power to establish public offices and appoint officers exclusively in the Public Service Commission (PSC). By bypassing the PSC, the President was adjudged to have usurped powers not granted to his office.

The court noted the following specific violations:

• Lack of Public Participation: The positions were created and filled without any advertisement or opportunity for qualified Kenyans to apply, violating the principle of competitive recruitment.
• Duplication of Roles: The judge observed that many of the advisory roles mirrored existing portfolios within the Cabinet and Principal Secretary ranks, creating a bloated wage bill at a time of national austerity.
• Fiscal Irregularity: The remuneration of the advisors, drawn from the public exchequer, was deemed an "illegal charge" on the Consolidated Fund since the offices themselves were null and void ab initio.

“The Constitution is not a suggestion,” Justice Mwamuye read in his ruling. “It is the supreme law that binds all, including the highest office in the land. To allow the Executive to unilaterally create a parallel public service is to invite anarchy and undermine the institutions we fought to establish.”

Political and Economic Ripples

This ruling comes at a precarious time for the Kenya Kwanza administration, which is already grappling with public discontent over the cost of living. The 21 advisors, dubbed the "President’s Brain Trust," included high-profile economists and strategists tasked with steering the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). Their removal leaves a vacuum in the strategy room at State House.

Critics have long argued that the advisory council was a "shadow cabinet" designed to reward political loyalists who missed out on formal Cabinet appointments. The opposition has seized on the ruling as vindication. "We have always said this regime is running the country like a private kiosk," said an opposition MP in Nairobi. "You cannot just wake up and hire your friends on taxpayer money without following the law."

For the 21 advisors, the immediate consequence is the freezing of their bank accounts relative to their public salaries. The court’s order to the PSC to stop processing their payroll is immediate, meaning they are effectively unemployed unless the Court of Appeal intervenes. Legal analysts predict the Attorney General will move with speed to challenge the verdict, likely seeking a stay of execution to prevent a crisis at the the House on the Hill.

“This is a victory for the rule of law and a reminder that in Kenya, no one is above the Constitution,” remarked Constitutional lawyer Levi Munyeri, who filed the petition. “We must protect the public purse from illegal appointments.”