Vicious battle for control of Nairobi City Inspectorate erupts

 

A vicious battle for control of the Nairobi City Inspectorate among senior officers has erupted, with several top managers moved in a fresh purge.

At least 14 top officers have been transferred this month alone from one of the most lucrative departments at City Hall.

Some of the top managers affected are Inspectorate Director Benjamin Omondi, Assistant Director for Administration Caroline Wairimu Njuguna and Deputy Director Joseph Kipsang Kosgei.

Others are Tom Seme, assistant director for operations and Tony Kimani, officer in charge of Commandant Training School.

In letters dated July 1, 2021 from acting County Secretary Jairus Musumba, through County Chief Officer for Security Enforcement and Compliance Mark Leleruk, the officers have been transferred or redeployed to other divisions and directed to hand over to Dr Leleruk.

The letters are copied to the governor, the county public service management and the human resources management director.

Mr Kosgei has been directed to report to the Youth and Sports chief officer to be assigned duties and William Kangogo put in his position in an acting capacity.

Sweeping changes

Ms Njuguna has been transferred to the Commerce, Tourism and Industrialisation division, where she will report to the chief officer to be assigned new duties.

Mr Omondi has been transferred to the same department, where he will now be the director for tourism.

The changes take effect immediately. Caleb Otieno, a former officer who had been acting in the position, has been recalled to take his place.

The officers have raised concerns about how the transfers were made, saying the positions were substantively filled by the Nairobi County Public Service Board after an internal advertisement earlier this year.

Mr Omondi was appointed by the board on March 24 but he only assumed office last month.
This is because, like other new officers, he had been blocked from taking over allegedly by Dr Leleruk and his team and it took the intervention of some ODM ward reps to get him into office.

“The five of us who were recently employed are the ones leading in the transfers and redeployments. In our meetings, Dr Leleruk has been saying that we got into the office because of the Handshake ‘but know that some of you will leave uniform employment to go to non-uniform’. He has said this in two meetings. So, this action is pre-planned,” Mr Omondi said.

His specialisation is in security matters, in which he has a diploma, a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree and has worked in related positions at City Hall since 1999, he said. 

Sabotaging operations

He said he was formerly in charge of enforcement at the Nairobi County Liquor Board before his recent appointment.

“These people are afraid of us because we are young and educated. They want the status quo to remain with officers who they control as they want. We will question things happening there,” he said.

“For instance, Caleb Otieno, the officer who has been recalled to take my position, did not apply for the position when it was advertised.”

For his part, Kenya County Government Workers Union Nairobi branch secretary Festus Ngari opposed the transfers and redeployments, terming them “illegal instructions”.

“We are brainstorming as union officers at the branch on the action to take. It is unlawful and an abuse of office by the county executive,” he said.

Reached for comment, Dr Leleruk defended the transfers, saying they were made in accordance with the law allowing the transfer of senior officers and are meant to weed out officers who have been sabotaging operations in the department.

He accused the officers of being behind what ails the capital city on issues related to hawkers, parking boys, crooks in city toilets, boda boda operators in the city centre and illegal clamping and towing of vehicles in cahoots with private breakdown service providers.

On-and-off wrangles

“Due diligence was followed in the transfers. Nairobi residents have suffered at the hands of some uniformed inspectorate officers and this has to come to an end,” he said.

The department has experienced its fair share of on-and-off wrangles since 2020, when, earlier that year, the City Hall security boss at the time, Tito Kilonzi, was recalled by the National Police Service (NPS) for redeployment.

His supposed replacement, Patrick Mwakio, was not allowed to assume office, because of sabotage from the county executive and junior officers in the Inspectorate Department. He would later leave, unable to serve in the office.

NPS then brought in Dr Leleruk instead. But the wrangles continued even as Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) come in and took over some functions from the county government.

In November 2020, about 20 inspectorate officers seconded to NMS were sent on compulsory leave in unclear circumstances.

A month later, NMS boss Maj-Gen Mohamed Badi split the enforcement and inspectorate department into two following alleged turf wars between Director Rachel Maina and her deputy at the time, Dr Leleruk.

Ms Maina left to head the compliance and services wing while Dr Leleruk in charge of enforcement.      BY DAILY NATION