President William Ruto’s Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, Felix Koskei, has approved the suspension of six Chief Executive Officers accused of corruption.
In a statement released by State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, Koskei accused the six of procurement irregularities.
He also suspended an accountant at the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA) and directed Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome to take similar action against 67 police officers implicated in corruption-related malpractices.
“The directives follow recommendations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for the suspension of the officers, who are currently under investigation,” the statement read.
“The Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service emphasises that the government remains firm in its commitment to eradicating corruption which, he maintains, undermines its development agenda,” State House added.
The EACC wrote to several Cabinet Secretaries on alleged corruption in different government institutions.
Here is a summary of the suspensions as per Koskei’s letter.
According to Koseki, EACC asked Water CS Zachariah Njeru to suspend Tanathi Water Works Development Agency CEO Frederick Mwamati accused of illegally awarding a tender for the construction of a Leather Industrial Park Water Supply Project.
Labour CS Florence Bore was directed to suspend Stephen Ogenga, the Director-General of the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), for alleged procurement irregularities in the award of a tender for supplies at the authority.
The Board of the National Museums of Kenya was asked to suspend Stanvas Ong’alo, the Acting Director-General, for alleged embezzlement of Ksh490 million through irregular payments.
Public Service CS, Moses Kuria, was directed to suspend Benjamin Kai Chilumo, the CEO of Huduma Centre Secretariat.
“Chilumo is under investigation for corruption allegations when he served in the County Government of Kilifi as the Chief Finance Officer,” Koskei alleged.
In the Ministry of Gender under CS Aisha Jumwa, EACC recommended the suspension of Peter Gitaa Koria, Bomas of Kenya CEO, accused of illegally procuring supplies for the institution.
Other CEOs who were suspended pending investigations were Eng. Anthony Wamukota, the General Manager of Design & Construction at Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO), and Esther Wanjiru Chege, an accountant at KeRRA.
Wamukota was accused of procurement irregularities related to the construction contract of the 400KV Loiyangalani Power Project, while Chege was alleged to have failed to explain the source of her wealth.
“In these letters, the EACC states that the continued stay in office of the mentioned officers during the investigation will interfere with and undermine its work.
By MAUREEN NJERI
