Court Throws Out Ruto’s Climate Council Picks In Shocking Verdict!
In a dramatic courtroom twist on Friday, May 2, the High Court in Nairobi delivered a powerful blow to President William Ruto’s climate change agenda — declaring his four key appointments to the Climate Change Council unconstitutional.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi didn’t mince words in his judgment, ruling that the government blatantly ignored the constitutional requirement for public participation before announcing the appointments. There was zero evidence to show the public had been consulted — and the state couldn’t defend its process.
As a result, the court ordered the government to hit the reset button: fresh nominations must now be conducted within 90 days.
The four individuals — Emily Mwende, John Kioli, Umar Omar, and George Odera — had already been under legal fire since February 2023, when Justice Mugure Thande issued a freeze on their swearing-in following a petition from a civic group. The petition alleged the appointments lacked transparency, fairness, and most importantly, public involvement.
Blasting the move as a closed-door affair, the petitioners emphasized that civil society groups active in climate issues were completely excluded from the selection process. “There’s no clarity on who represents the largest climate-focused civil society organization — a legal necessity under the Council Act,” the group argued. They also cited a complete blackout on public participation, defying the Public Participation Act.
Even former Public Service CS Justin Muturi, then serving as Attorney General, was dragged into the legal storm as one of the respondents.
The now-nullified appointments were part of Ruto’s broader push to tackle climate challenges, with the Council meant to advise him directly on climate-related policies. But with the court’s decision, the president’s climate team just got disbanded — and his administration must now return to the drawing board under the court’s watchful eye.
