The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested the Deputy Clerk and the former Speaker of the Kisii County Assembly.
In a report released on Tuesday, April 8, EACC revealed that the two had been arrested for irregular recruitment that involved the niece of the Deputy Clerk.
According to EACC, the Deputy Clerk unlawfully hired his niece on or around October 24, 2017, as a clerical officer in the county assembly without informing the county's Public Service Board or following the laid-down recruitment procedures.
Subsequently, the niece in question was irregularly engaged as the Speaker’s Personal Assistant (PA) on permanent and pensionable terms.
This was especially illegal as it is contrary to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC's) Regulations, which entitle the Speaker to appoint selected staff, including a PA, on contract.
The former Speaker was thus accused of using his office to confer a benefit by allowing the Deputy County Clerk's niece to be appointed.
The Deputy Clerk was arrested and arraigned before the Kisii Law Court on Monday, April 7, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse of office.
He was released on a Ksh50,000 cash bail or a bond of Ksh100,000 with a surety of a similar amount.
As for the former Speaker, he was expected to be arraigned on Tuesday, April 8, on the same charges of abuse of office, in violation of Section 46, as read with Section 48(1) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act No. 3 of 2003.
However, he skipped the court appearance, leading to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) issuing a summons for him.
Unfortunately, nepotism or irregular hiring, especially in counties, is not an uncommon occurrence. Just a few weeks ago, the neighbouring Nyamira County was riddled with a similar scandal.
On March 3, EACC arrested four former Nyamira county officials— a Nyamira County Executive Committee member, a former Commissioner of the Nyamira County Public Service Board, a former Principal Culture Officer, and the former Assistant Director of Administration— for illegally appointing 56 staff members in the Department of Gender, Youth, Culture, and Social Services.
They were charged with abuse of office for appointing staff to positions that were neither sanctioned by the Cabinet nor accounted for in the budget for the 2016/2017 financial year.
