Waititu’s first act as Kiambu Governor causes panic

dennis kibet

August 24, 2017 8:13 AM

His decision was part of his initial plan during campaigns

Anxiety has gripped Kiambu County workers after the unprecedented move to send home over 60 workers on compulsory annual leave.

Sub county administrators and crucial communication officers in the county are the most affected in what Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu terms as massive cleanup.

County Communication officers were asked to take 30-day leave from August 22. Some staff at the Kiambu town based county headquarters were forced to hand over county resources including vehicles, equipment and other county property they were holding.

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All the suspended workers have over a month out of office, until October 3 as the office of the governor ponders the way forward, after which “they will be told whether or not they will retain their jobs,” a source at the county headquarters said.

"The county has not specified the reason we are proceeding on compulsory leave," said one who declined to be named.

In a letter signed by chief officer Marie Mugo, the team was told to hand over the equipment to their supervisors and obtain clearance for the same.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that the purge may include county executive committee members and directors.

Nepotism

Mr Waititu’s predecessor, Mr Kabogo, was on several occasions accused of perpetuating nepotism at the county offices.

Following the former governor’s defeat in the just concluded elections, some of the employees have resigned from their positions in fear of being sacked.

Sources say that several others are not sure they will keep their jobs, or may not survive the purge as they were involved in a smear social media campaign against Waititu ahead of the August 8 polls.

During his campaigns, Mr Waititu maintained that some of the ward administrators had pushed the former governor into breaking the law, something he vowed to deal with.

The eminent forced annual leave amongst the Kiambu County workers comes in the backdrop of a warning from the Prof Margaret Kobia led Public Service Commission of governors breaching the law in sacking thousands of county staff. She maintained that the national government will not compensate for irate and irregular sackings.

Since Monday, thousands of county staff have been sent packing in the latest ‘clean up’ by governors after being sworn in. In Machakos, over 400 workers were sent on a compulsory leave, while in Tharaka Nithi, governor Muthomi Njuki sent home over 1,000 workers for unclear reasons.

dennis kibet