The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has initiated the recovery of salaries, allowances and other benefits earned by a Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) lecturer.
According to EACC, the lecturer earned the amounts as a part-time employee of Kirinyaga County.
The lecturer lost a case where she was found to be in violation of Chapter Six of the Constitution as she was a County Assembly board member yet employed on a permanent and pensionable job at JKUAT.
In the case filed at the Employment and Labour Court in Nyeri, the lecturer wanted the Kirinyaga County Assembly and its Clerk ordered to continue paying her salary contrary to an EACC directive which halted the payments effective July 27, 2022.
She also wanted EACC to be barred from interfering with her County Assembly job and the court to declare that she had not contravened the Constitution by holding two jobs.
The presiding judge, Justice Onesmus Makau, while throwing out the case filed by the lecturer, ruled that she was not eligible for appointment as a part-time member of the board in Kirinyaga County Assembly since she was a full-time public officer serving as a lecturer at JKUAT.
EACC challenged her case, stating that she was in contravention of Article 77(1) of the Constitution and Section 26 of the Leadership and Integrity Act.
The Nyeri Employment and Labour Court, therefore declared the double employment of a public officer irregular and unlawful.
It further deduced that the lecturer, who was earning a monthly retainer of Ksh145,000 from the county assembly, was not eligible to earn the remuneration and benefits.
While terming this as a fraudulent acquisition of public property, EACC Spokesperson Eric Ngumbi stated that the commission will cite the ruling in a crackdown against public servants accused of conflict of interest.
“That problem is also prevalent in the national government and the EACC is investigating several cases. 43 files have been forwarded to the EACC with recommendations to prosecute persons involved,” he stated.
Ngumbi, while speaking to the media, stated that one would compromise at least one role if they tried working double jobs simultaneously.
“There is no way you can be serving on a full-time basis, that is from 8 am - 5 pm in a public institution, and you purport to have time to do other public duties in another institution,” he reiterated.
Ngumbi added that EACC was also investigating governors and officials from over 35 counties who are embezzling public money using fictitious tricks like having proxy companies.
