A petition has been filed at the Nairobi Employment and Labour Relations Court challenging Dr James Mworia’s appointment as founding Chief Executive Officer of the National Infrastructure Fund, days after the board confirmed him for the role.
The petition, filed by Brian and Emmanuel Kiplagat against the National Infrastructure Fund Board, the State Law Office and two other respondents, was lodged on September 8 and falls under the court’s petitions category.
At the centre of the challenge is Mworia’s position on the same board that selected him. He joined the board in July, months before his appointment as CEO. The petitioners argue that a sitting board member competing for a post the board itself was bound to fill impartially discloses a conflict of interest on the public record, and creates grounds for a court to examine whether disclosure and non participation obligations under section 16(6) to (9) of the National Infrastructure Fund Act, 2026 were met.
The petition also faults the board for not publishing a list of applicants or a shortlist for the CEO role, arguing this left the public unable to verify whether the recruitment considered the constitutional requirements on gender balance, ethnic diversity and regional representation under Articles 27 and 232.
The application window for the position ran for roughly 17 to 18 days, according to the petition, which the petitioners cite alongside the absence of a published shortlist as grounds for a reasonable apprehension that the process was designed to reach a predetermined outcome.
The petitioners are asking the court to certify the matter as urgent and issue conservatory orders during the current court vacation. Absent such orders, they argue, Mworia will continue to exercise powers under Sections 18, 19 and 22 of the Act, including originating projects, approving investments, entering contracts and mobilising private capital, causing what the petition describes as irreversible prejudice to the public interest.
Neither the National Infrastructure Fund Board nor Mworia had responded to the petition at the time of publication.
