President Uhuru Kenyatta's Education CS nominee Prof George Magoha, on Thursday, finally came clean over claims that he fired Interior CS Fred Matiang'i during his tenure at the University of Nairobi.
Appearing before a parliamentary committee, the no nonsense former KNEC chairman clarified that as much as Matiang'i dramatically left the institution, he did not have anything to do with his firing.
He, however, explained that since he was the one who came up with the policy, the firing must have been justified and that it followed the law.
“I as the Vice Chancellor at the University of Nairobi... I was in charge of policy and I gave those under me orders to do everything possible to make sure it was followed by all.
"If you ask me, I may not be aware why Matiang’i was sacked but I know those under me had all the powers to make decisions against anyone who went against the official policy,” he told the vetting committee led by Speaker Justin Muturi.
Magoha was responding to a heavily worded question posed by Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wa especially considering that Matiang'i was placed as the first referee on his CV.
The outgoing Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) chairman explained that Matiang'i was a better placed referee considering that he had recommended him to the President for the KNEC chairmanship position.
He further divulged that he had been appointed for a ministerial job he had not applied for and was not experienced in.
"I want to declare that he is my friend but I did not appoint him as my referee on the basis of that, I appointed him based on the fact that this is a ministerial job which I never looked for and he has been one," he noted.
"He is the one who recommended me to the president to go to KNEC, he would be able to tell you what I did when I was there," disclosed Magoha.
During the session, the professor also stated he trusts no one when it comes to the delegation of duties adding that his goal is working backwards.
"When I took over at the University of Nairobi, there were many stalled projects, we completed them," he stated.
Below is a video of Magoha defending his choice of CS Matiang'i as his referee:
“…I’m free to make friends…” ~ Prof. George Magoha on why he placed CS Fred Matiangi as one of his referees #SemaNaCitizen pic.twitter.com/C4zDxNBbXs
