Former Othaya Member of Parliament (MP) Mary Wambui has been re-appointed as the Chairperson of the Trustees of the Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund (SFRTF).
Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore reappointed Wambui through a February 23, 2024, Gazette notice for a 3-year period.
“It is notified for general information that the Cabinet for Labour and Social Protection has re-appointed- MARY WAMBUI to be the Chairperson of the Trustees of the Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 23rd February 2024,” read part of the Gazette notice.
Wambui was first appointed at SFRTF in January 2021 by the then Labour CS Simon Chelugui during the then President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure.
She took over from Linah Jebii Kilimo (former Marakwet East MP).
Prior to the pick, Kenyatta had appointed Mary Wambui to the National Employment Authority (NEA) and revoked in 2020.
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The Labor Court quashed her appointment as the Chairperson of NEA.
Why Revoked Mary Wambui appointment
In a ruling, the Employment and Labor relations Court ruled that Wambui did not meet the qualifications of the office.
“Her appointment to the board does not meet the constitutional requirements it is therefore null and void,” Justice Makau ruled.
Furthermore, the Court declared that Wambui’s appointment was irregular and against the law.
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Further, the court ruled that that the appointment by President Kenyatta did not meet the statutory and constitutional requirements thus she is unsuitable to serve.
The Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association (KYPA) led by the then Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja moved to court seeking to stop her appointment for the position.
KYPA argued that Wambui was not qualified for appointment as Chairperson as per provisions of Section 10 (2) of the NEA act.
“Wambui should not assume office as the Chairperson of the National Employment Authority, as she is a person not qualified under the law to be the Chairperson of the National Employment Authority” they argued.
The then KYPA Chairperson, current Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja, had instructed their lawyers to challenge Wambui’s appointment.
The Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund (SFRTF) is a body corporate established on 11th March 2003 during former President Mwai Kibaki’s tenure.
Its key objective of the fund is to spearhead national Government response to restore dignity to street families.
Furthermore, other strategic goals of the Trust Fund are to safeguard and promote the rights of street families and to address the concerns of all homeless, destitute and vulnerable people in urban areas.