The High Court in Kiambu has received a petition challenging continued unlawful tenure of Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) Director-General Eng. Silas Murira Kinoti.
Justice Francis Nyungu Kyambia directed the petitioners to serve the application and petition on the respondents within seven days and set the matter for hearing on November 16, 2026.
Petitioners Challenge Continued Tenure
The case was filed by Omondi Charles and Velma Ongalo, who are questioning whether Kinoti has a valid legal mandate to continue occupying and exercising the powers of KURA Director-General.
In their petition, the two claim that Kinoti was appointed to the position on June 19, 2020, for a fixed term.
They state that his first term ended on June 18, 2023, after which he served a further term that, according to their documents and information, expired on June 18, 2026.
The petitioners say they have not been provided with an appointment letter, Gazette Notice, Board resolution, renewal, extension, reappointment or other legal instrument showing that Kinoti’s tenure was lawfully extended beyond that date.
They have, however, expressly acknowledged that they cannot state as an absolute fact that no such instrument exists and are asking the court to require KURA and the other respondents to disclose any document relied upon to justify Kinoti’s continued tenure.
Orders Sought Against KURA
The petitioners want the court to determine whether Kinoti has a valid and subsisting mandate to exercise the functions of Director-General after June 18, 2026.
They are also seeking orders requiring KURA to produce any legal instrument supporting his continued occupation of the office.
Among the reliefs sought is an order restraining Kinoti from exercising the statutory functions of Director-General if no valid legal mandate exists.
The petitioners say they are not seeking to halt KURA’s operations, but want the authority’s functions to continue under a person or arrangement authorised by law.
Court Gives Parties Time to Respond
In the October 2 order, Justice Kyambia directed the respondents to file and serve their responses within seven days of receiving the petition and application.
The petitioners will then have seven days to file any further affidavits and their submissions, followed by a similar period for the respondents to file submissions.
The court did not determine the merits of the petition at this stage.
The case will therefore proceed to the next stage on November 16, when the application is scheduled to be heard.
The respondents named in the petition include the KURA Board of Directors, Kinoti, the Cabinet Secretary responsible for Roads and Transport and the Attorney-General.
