Auditor General Edward Ouko exposes tribalism in Kisumu, Homa Bay, Nyamira

Auditor General Edward Ouko on Tuesday exposed Kisumu County for the highest ethnic imbalance in its workforce.

According to Ouko's ‘Ethnic and Diversity Audit of the County Public Service’ report, 97% of the employees in Kisumu county all come from the dominate ethnic group in the region.

The report identified four other counties in the Western region with over 90% of employees from one community.

Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong'o (Twitter) Pulse Live Kenya

Homa Bay county had 95% employees from one tribe followed by Nyamira, Kisii and Migori which had 94% and 91% respectively.

Against the Law

The Law stipulates that county workers from one ethnic community should not exceed 30% of the total employees hired by the county.

"No public establishment shall have more than one-third of its staff from the same ethnic community.

"Consequently, the county recruitment procedures of the County Government Act have not been adhered to," Ouko's report read in part.

Auditor General Edward Ouko ece-auto-gen

Ouko's report concluded that the problem is rampant in many of the counties in Kenya.

"The findings of this report allude to the fact that employment in the county public service is not only inequitable but skewed towards the dominant groups in the county.

"County governments are not complying with the provisions on inclusivity and promotion of regional and ethnic diversity in Kenya. They have hired invariably from the group that is numerically dominant in the county," the report read in part.