The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has temporarily halted the recruitment of a Vice-Chancellor for Maseno University following a legal challenge by Professor Mary Abukutsa-Onyango, who claims her application was unfairly excluded.

In a ruling delivered by Justice Dr. Jacob Gakeri, the court granted the professor leave to pursue judicial review orders against the Public Service Commission (PSC) and Maseno University, allowing her case to proceed to full hearing.

“The court is satisfied that the Applicant has an arguable case in the first instance and the application for leave is merited,” Justice Gakeri ruled.

Professor Abukutsa-Onyango had moved to court through Gizele Simiyu Nekesa Luchiri & CO advocates law firm through lawyer Prof George Wajackoyah.

under a certificate of urgency, seeking orders to quash the recruitment process and stop interviews, shortlisting, and any final appointment for the position pending determination of her case.

She argued that she duly applied for the position but was excluded from the shortlist under unclear circumstances.

Through her lawyer, she maintained that she submitted applications for Vice-Chancellor positions at Maseno University, the University of Nairobi, and Kenyatta University before the January 9, 2026 deadline.

She further claimed that while her applications to the other two institutions were acknowledged, her Maseno application was allegedly ignored.

Her counsel told the court that she “has evidence of having submitted application for the position of Vice-Chancellor in the three universities before the deadline,” adding that she had lodged complaints with the PSC and the Ombudsman without receiving timely responses.

However, the PSC, through its CEO Paul Famba, disputed her claims, stating that there was no record of her application for the Maseno post. The commission argued that the documents she relied on were unclear and unreliable.

“The evidence availed by the Applicant to show that she applied… was illegible and difficult to make any conclusion,” the PSC said in its response, insisting that “there was no record of the application for Maseno University.”

The commission further maintained that the recruitment process had already been concluded, rendering the application overtaken by events.

Despite the dispute, the court found that key questions remained unresolved, particularly regarding the alleged submission and handling of the application.

Justice Gakeri also allowed that the leave granted would operate as a stay of the ongoing recruitment process, noting that “the prayer that leave act as stay appears merited… in the interest of justice.”

The case will proceed to substantive hearing, where the court will determine whether the recruitment process was lawful.