The recruitment of the next Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) chief executive officer has been challenged in court over alleged opacity, conflict of interest and irregularities in shortlisting.
In a constitutional petition filed at the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi, George Okoth Olosi wants the court to stop KPC, its board from interviewing or appointing a Managing Director/CEO.
The KPC Board, its General Manager in charge of Human Resources and the company are respondents, while the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is listed as an interested party.
The recruitment is intended to fill the position left vacant after former CEO Joe Sang resigned in April/May 2026. Pius Mwendwa is serving as Acting Managing Director and CEO.
KPC advertised the vacancy on May 7, 2026, with applications closing at midnight on May 20. Olosi says he and other candidates applied within the stipulated period.
However, the petitioner claims KPC proceeded with shortlisting without notifying applicants about their applications. He further alleges candidates have been unable to access the recruitment portal.
At the centre of the dispute is the role allegedly taken by the General Manager in charge of Human Resources in screening applicants. Olosi argues that the officer is a subordinate within KPC and would ultimately report to the incoming chief executive.
“The arrangement raises conflict-of-interest concerns. The board or an independent executive search firm should handle the process,” he says.
He claims there are no board resolutions or signed minutes authorising the human resource manager to conduct the exercise.
Questions over board meeting
Olosi has also questioned a meeting of the Board Nomination and Remuneration Committee held on October 29, 2026.
He claims Ugandan directors, who are KPC board members and, according to the petition, possess veto powers in appointing the CEO, were absent. He says their absence raises questions about the meeting’s regularity.
The petition states: “The recruitment and shortlisting process has been conducted in an opaque and non-transparent manner, raising serious concerns regarding compliance with the Constitution of Kenya, the Fair Administrative Action Act, 2015, and applicable principles of corporate governance, transparency and accountability.”
The petitioner wants KPC ordered to release the longlist, shortlist and criteria and scoring matrices used to assess applicants. He says public recruitment requires “a clear, auditable trail proving how shortlisting was done, what criteria were used, and how decisions were objectively arrived at”.
Olosi says the human resource department has withheld the longlist, allegedly describing it as a “confidential document”. He argues this contravenes Article 35 of the Constitution, guaranteeing access to information, and the Access to Information Act, 2016.
The petition seeks an independent forensic audit of KPC’s recruitment portal and database.
Olosi wants the audit to establish whether any eligible candidate’s application was subjected to “administrative exclusion, deliberate alteration, deletion, or technical obstruction”. He seeks timestamps and records of applications received before May 20.
He further asks the court to preserve recruitment records, including portal logs, backups and board minutes.
Pending determination of the application, he wants an injunction stopping interviews, scoring, recommendations, selection and appointment.
If the court finds that the portal was manipulated or shortlisting conducted without board authority, criteria or transparency, he wants the exercise nullified and a fresh advertisement issued under an independent human resource consultant.
He also seeks declarations that the process violates constitutional principles of transparency, accountability, fair competition and merit, and public service values.
The matter is scheduled for hearing at the Milimani Employment and Labour Relations Court on Monday, November 16, 2026, at 9am. The allegations are claims by the petitioner and have not been determined by the court.
