The Employment and Labour Relations Court has dismissed a petition challenging the Kenya National Highways Authority’s (KeNHA) requirement that job applicants be registered with the Engineers Board of Kenya.
KeNHA had sought to fill 27 positions for Engineer (Roads), Grade 7, through advertisements dated December 2, 2025, and an extension issued on December 9, 2025.
The job specifications required applicants to hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering, Civil Engineering, or Civil and Structural Engineering, as well as registration with the Engineers Board of Kenya as a Graduate Engineer.
The Institution of Engineering Technology of Kenya filed a petition against KeNHA, arguing that the requirements unlawfully excluded its qualified members. It contended that its members, who hold Bachelor of Technology Engineering degrees, are registered with the Kenya Engineering Technologists Board.
The petitioner further argued that its members possess equivalent academic qualifications and are capable of performing the required duties. It sought declarations that the recruitment process violated Articles 232 of the Constitution and provisions of the Employment Act on fair competition, merit-based hiring, equal treatment, and non-discrimination.
It also sought judicial review orders to quash the recruitment process, prohibit future allegedly discriminatory advertisements, and compel KeNHA to issue a compliant advertisement within 30 days.
KeNHA, in a replying affidavit, maintained that the Career Progression Guidelines under which it acted had been approved by the Public Service Commission in June 2025. The authority stated that engineers and technologists are distinct professional cadres with different academic training, competencies, and regulatory frameworks.
“The affiant further deposed that whereas a Bachelor of Science in Engineering entailed rigorous comprehensive and theory intensive training for a period of five years, under a curriculum accredited by the Commission of University Education and the Engineering Board of Kenya, a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology holder required further training (internship).”
KeNHA further argued that engineers focus on design, research, and professional judgment, while technologists handle implementation and technical support functions.
The Engineers Board of Kenya, which participated as an interested party, submitted that only persons registered by EBK are permitted to practise as engineers, and that the term “engineer” is exclusively reserved for those who meet the qualifications under the Engineers Act.
In his ruling, Justice Jacob Gakeri observed that Parliament had deliberately established separate legal regimes for the two professions.
"It requires no emphasis that the two cadres of graduates are trained differently, the intended outcome is different and their role in an undertaking is different," the judge stated.
Justice Gakeri held that the petitioner had failed to demonstrate that its members were subjected to unfair discrimination, finding that the advertisement was lawful and consistent with the statutory separation between engineers and engineering technologists.
"Whereas engineering focuses on conceptual imperatives in structures, machines manufacturing and other processes through scientific principles and involves creation and construction engineering technology is part of the engineering profession concerned with application of applied mathematics and natural science to the application of engineering principles and implementation of technology."
The petition was therefore dismissed.
