Bullying juniors wrong

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha is a no-nonsense fellow who enjoys exercising his powers, sometimes rubbing some people, especially his juniors, the wrong way.

He is a practical manager who likes to get his job done and takes no prisoners. However, he appears to have gone too far with his recent public humiliation of a senior education official in Uasin Gishu County.

He not only reprimanded the officer, but did so in front of the man’s colleagues and juniors, with pupils watching in amusement as he called the man stupid.

Prof Magoha’s critics have denounced his openly arrogant style. But the most dramatic reaction is by the Public Service Commission, which has reportedly stripped Prof Magoha’s docket of the human resource function. According to the PSC, these powers will now be exercised by the Principal Secretary.

As obnoxious as the CS’s treatment of his juniors may have been, this hasty PSC decision raises some pertinent questions. Can the PSC exercise the powers vested in the President as the appointing authority?

Or, could the commission have been acting on the instructions of the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua on behalf of the President? This was not clear from the PSC statement.

However, there is a poignant lesson here for senior officials on how to relate with their juniors. These public jobs cannot be done by one person and, therefore, the contributions of everybody right from the bottom to the top are crucial.

Respect is reciprocal. If the seniors demean the people who report to them, they should not expect those they so blatantly humiliate to respect them.

Though he has yet to apologise, Prof Magoha has expressed regret over the incident that has caused a national outrage. We cannot emphasise enough the need for mutual respect between senior and junior government officials in the discharge of their duties.