The High Court of Kenya has ruled that a National Land Commissioner is entitled to serve her full six-year constitutional term, thereby blocking any premature replacement that would have threatened her tenure.
This ruling follows a legal challenge to Gazette Notice No. 11212 and subsequent recruitment processes, which had incorrectly treated all commissioner positions as vacant.
In its judgment delivered on 11th November 2025 by Justice Chacha Mwita, the High Court found that the declaration of vacancies and subsequent public advertisement for eight commissioner positions, including the petitioner’s, posed a direct threat to her right to serve the full term.
“A declaration is hereby issued that Hon. Tiyah Galgalo Ali is entitled to serve her full term of six years as a commissioner of the National Land Commission, which commenced on 21st December 2020 and will expire on 20th December 2026,” read the judgement in part.
Background of the Case
According to the court judgment, the petitioner, Tiyah Galgalo Ali, was appointed as a commissioner of the National Land Commission (NLC) on December 21, 2020, for a single six-year term, set to expire on December 20, 2026.
On August 11, 2025, the President issued Gazette Notice No. 11212, declaring impending vacancies for the positions of Chairperson and Commissioners of the NLC.
Following this, a selection panel was appointed, and advertisements were published calling for applications for eight commissioner positions.
The petitioner contended that the process erroneously implied that her position was also vacant, despite her term not due to expire until December 2026.
“The petitioner’s term as a National Land Commissioner runs until December 2026, yet the Gazette Notice and recruitment process wrongly suggested her position was vacant,” the ruling explained.
Letters sent to the Head of Public Service and the Public Service Commission to clarify the situation were ignored, prompting her to file the petition at the High Court to protect her constitutional term.
Petitioner and Respondents Claims
The petitioner argued that the declaration of vacancies and the recruitment process constituted a threat to her constitutionally guaranteed term.
She sought declarations confirming her right to serve the full six-year term, quashing the Gazette Notice and related newspaper advertisements, and an order prohibiting any interference with her position.
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The respondents, while acknowledging that the petitioner’s term runs until December 2026, argued that the petition was speculative.
“The petitioner argued that the recruitment process wrongly treated her position as vacant, while the respondents maintained that the process was procedural and subject to National Assembly vetting,” the judgment read.
They maintained that the Gazette Notice did not specify the number of vacancies and that the National Assembly would ultimately determine the number of commissioners to be appointed during the vetting process.
Additionally, they also suggested that the recruitment process should proceed to ensure the commission’s continued functionality.
Court Findings and Orders
The High Court judge found that the declaration of impending vacancies and subsequent recruitment process for all eight commissioner positions, including the petitioner’s, posed a direct threat to her constitutional term.
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“The declaration of vacancies and the recruitment process… posed a direct threat to her constitutional term,” the judgment stated.
The court emphasised that commissioners have security of tenure and can only be removed in accordance with the Constitution and the National Land Commission Act.
The court quashed Gazette Notice No. 11212 and related advertisements in the Daily Nation and Standard newspapers.
It also issued an order of prohibition preventing the respondents or any agents from taking steps to appoint commissioners in a manner that could interfere with the petitioner’s tenure.
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