A court has told law professor Ben Sihanya to choose between University of Nairobi lecture halls or serving as the chairperson of the ODM disciplinary committee.
The intellectual property and constitutional matters lecturer was appointed to serve as the chairperson of the ODM disciplinary committee in August last year, a move the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) challenged.
Prof Sihanya then moved to the court seeking to quash the letters sent by EACC, which gave him 14 days to resign from the position because as a public officer, he cannot hold a political office or quit the ODM post.
Justice Mathews Nduma agreed with the EACC, saying a lecturer at a public university is primarily remunerated and paid benefits out of money provided by Parliament.
“It follows therefore that the 1st petitioner (Prof Sihanya) is prohibited under section 12 of the Political Parties Act, and section 23 of the Leadership and Integrity Act to hold office in a political party,” the judge said.
‘No conflict’
Prof Sihanya had argued that there was no conflict at all with him remaining as a lecturer and the ODM appointment since serving as the chairperson of the disciplinary committee was not elective.
He added that whereas a lecturer at an institution of higher learning enjoys academic freedom and is not barred from expressing his or her political opinion, such an officer is bound to relinquish his position if he is appointed or elected to an office in a political party.
“Holding the office of a lecturer at a public university and at the same time holding an appointed office of a chairperson of a disciplinary committee on a dominant political party amounts to performing daily or continuous political activities that may be seen to compromise the political neutrality of the office or a lecturer,” Justice Nduma said.
Not a state officer
According to the don, he was not a state officer and therefore not prohibited under Article 77(2) of the constitution to hold office in a political party and that the Political Parties Act does not apply to him because he was not a public officer, since UoN is an independent parastatal.
EACC said his appointment as the chairperson of the party’s disciplinary committee was in violation of sections of the Political Parties Act and Leadership and Integrity Act, which applies to all public officers.
“Following the above exegesis, and in answer to the issues above, the court finds that the action by the respondent in giving the 1st petitioner opportunity to elect to remain a lecturer at the University of Nairobi or opt to become the chairperson of the disciplinary committee was lawful, fair and just,” the Judge said. BY DAILY NATION