Three Bomet CECs negotiate exit settlement after impeachment

Three impeached Bomet County ministers are currently negotiating their exit from service with the county assembly and the executive arms of government.

Dr Joseph Kirui (Administration, Public Service, and Special Programmes), Erick Ngetich (Roads, Transport and Public Works), and Andrew Kimutai Sigey (Finance and Economic Planning) were impeached on August 30, 2024, for gross violations of the constitution and various laws.

A document prepared by five lawyers, which Nation.Africa has obtained, proposes that the ministers vacate their positions while receiving their salaries and benefits from the county government.

This comes after 29 out of 38 members of the County Assembly voted to impeach the executive committee members following two months of tension between the legislative and executive arms of the devolved government unit.

On Tuesday, the advocate representing the three confirmed the ongoing negotiations.

“I can confirm to you that the agreement is being worked on. There are one or two issues that have not been agreed upon by the parties. We are confident that the grey areas will be addressed by the close of business today (Tuesday),” said Mr Desmond Leteipa.

One contested clause in the proposed agreement requires the county government to cover the costs of the petition and related incidentals, leaving it open-ended and vulnerable to potential misuse.

It states, “the costs of the petitions and applications that are awarded to the petitioners are to be borne by the interested party (county government).”

The draft document dated October 14, 2024, indicates that the county government and the CECs have “mutually and amicably agreed to terminate the petitioners’ (CECs) contract of employment as provided by the 'Mutual Separation Agreement' to be drafted and adopted by the parties within the next seven days.”

The agreement specifies that “for the avoidance of doubt and clarity, the petitioners herein are entitled to a full pay of their dues and related payments, to be agreed upon in the Mutual Separation Agreement.”

The agreement drawn by Leteipa Silei Law, John Mark Langat, Oscar Sang, and F. C Bor and Company Advocates is titled Resolution by parties to settle pending court matters.

The proposed agreement is set for adoption and signing on Thursday, October 24, 2024, by Governor Hillary Barchok, Speaker of the County Assembly Cosmas Korir, and the Leader of the Majority.

Others are Minority leader Paul Kirui, Kipsonoi MCA Peter Kipchirchir, and Ms Caroline Chemutai, an advocate who filed a petition at the High Court in one of the cases.

The agreement to settle the matter out of court will also be signed by the three suspended and impeached CECs before Justice Roselyne Korir of the Bomet High Court.

The county ministers are seeking for the impeachment resolutions to be revoked and have them and the county government agree to a mutual termination of the employment contract in such a manner that it will not have a negative bearing on the three officers.

It also means that the officers will be cleared of the charges in the impeachment proceedings and resolution in what will effectively give them a clean bill of health to seek employment elsewhere.

By press time, the parties were negotiating on who would bear the costs of the multiple suits and attendant costs which had initially been itemised to be footed by the county government in a draft that was rejected by the county assembly leadership.

A meeting between the assembly leadership led by Speaker Korir and the executive led by Governor Barchok was held last week to discuss the matter.

But when the draft was shared, the MCAs declined to sign after it emerged that some of the clauses would lead to the county losing a lot of money in legal fees and payments to the three.

“The payments for the provided for in the “The Mutually Separation Agreement” and other incidental costs, the County Executive and the County Assembly shall factor in the said amounts in the upcoming supplementary budget.

However, the county executive can satisfy the payment for the of the said amounts in the first instance depending on availability of funds by the County Executive”

Dr Kirui, Mr Ngetich, and Mr Sigei were accused of incompetence, presiding over the mismanagement of public resources, engaging in procurement irregularities, non-compliance with fiscal regulations, and failing to provide details of departmental expenditures and development projects to the assembly as demanded.

The CECs allegedly contravened the Procurement and Financial Management (PFM) Act, 2012, charges against which they did not appear in the assembly to defend themselves, but chose to send their lawyer  Mr Leteipa to hold brief, but did not take a plea on their behalf.

On September 2, 2024, Professor Barchok received the resolutions of the impeachments from the county assembly, giving him the powers to sack the three CECs.

He was also to nominate and forward names of their replacements to the assembly for vetting and concurrence for appointment to the positions.

However, the governor did not act on the resolutions, giving the impeached CECs the much-needed lifeline to move to the High Court and obtain injunctive orders against their impending sacking and outright removal from office.

Justice Nyaga Heston Mbogo issued injunctive orders against the Bomet County Government on September 2, 2024, following a petition filed by the three CECs through their lawyer Desmond Leteipa.

“A conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the interested party (Governor) from receiving, taking or conducting any step and or complying with the resolution of the County Assembly of Bomet of 30th August 2024 recommending the removal of the petitioner…pending further direction of the court on the application” Justice Mbogo directed.

The injunctive orders of the court have not been vacated and the CECs have been serving on suspension, which they were handed by the Governor a week after the impeachment process started at the county assembly.

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