70 Kiambu MCAs sign to impeach speaker Ndicho of incompetence

 

Kiambu county assembly speaker Stephen Ndicho is in trouble for alleged incompetence, violation of the Constitution, denial of information to the public and failure to uphold public service values.

Members of the County Assembly have drafted an impeachment motion against Ndicho. As of Sunday, 70 out of 92 MCAs had appended their signatures to the motion. Only 33 members are required to pass it.

Their grouses against the speaker also include his alleged failure to prioritise their interests and welfare. 

The MCAs say the speaker has unprodedurally transferred assembly clerk John Mwivithi Mutie to the executive as the chief officer.

They accuse Ndicho of invoking the name of the President and State House to cover his incompetence and non-performance.

“In less than three years under his dictatorial and manipulative leadership, the county assembly has experienced a high turnover of accounting officers susch that four people have so far held the position of the clerk,” the motion says.

The MCAs say that by transferring Mutie without adhering to the County Assembly Services Act, the speaker had violated the Constitution.

Further, they accuse him of failing to respect the rule of law in the appointment of accounting officers, three of whom have held the position  of the assembly clerk in acting capacities.

Ndicho said he is aware of the impeachment motion and accused the five MCAs behind it as recipients of money from a clerk seconded elsewhere whom they want back.

"The assembly commissioned an audit to be carried out and now that it's out, the culprits are very worried that if it is made public, heads will roll.

"If I am removed from being speaker and chairman of the (Public Service) Board, the  report will be killed. The County Assemblies Services Board Act is what guides me and the board on any action," he said and challenged his accusers to say exactly what he hasn't done correctly.

The MCAs cite as an example of denying the public information a request by Kiuu Ward representative Daniel Ngugi for a statement on the status of the assembly's accounting officer.

According to them, the information would have exposed the irregular or illegal transfer of the clerk, unfair and non-competitive appointment and promotions, unfair labour practices under the watch and direction of the speaker.

To them, Ndicho has failed to uphold and promote the principles and values of public service by unfairness and unmeritoriously appointing and promoting county assembly officers.

“Between December 2019 and July 2020 the speaker championed targeted appraisals and promotions of officers without following the procedure provided for in the county assembly human resource manual and in total disregard of recommendations of the staff advisory committee."

The accusers cited the case of Helen Wanjiru Mwangi previously, an ICT officer who was in 2018 redeployed as clerk assistant at scale 8, then promoted as acting as deputy clerk at scale 11 in disregard of the staff advisory committee against the accelerated promotion and that such position required a more experienced and senior officer in the service.

The said there was no service board resolution on Mwangi's promotion as deputy clerk.

Another case cited is that of Benjamin Gachie, who was in less than a month promoted from clerk assistant at scale 8 to director Legislative, Procedural and Committee Service at scale 11 "without the vacancy being announced in the post and no internal advert undertaken for fairness and competitive recruitment”.

The auditor general’s report for the year ended  June 30, 2018, states that although the financial statements of the county assembly were signed and delivered for audit by the clerk, no information and documentary evidence were provided to show how the position of the clerk was filled.

Further no documentary evidence has been provided to confirm personal emoluments paid to the clerk during the year under review.