Nyeri Deputy Governor Caroline Karugu received pay until June, court papers show
Nyeri Deputy Governor Caroline Karugu.
Nyeri Deputy Governor Caroline Karugu had been receiving her salary until four months ago, court documents show.
In a response to a suit in which Ms Karugu has sued the Nyeri County Secretary Benjamin Gachichio and Governor Mutahi Kahiga as the first and second respondents for withholding her monthly salary of Sh685,250 since November 2019, the duo has denied the claims.
Bank salary receipts presented before the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nyeri, show that Ms Karugu has been receiving a salary of Sh470,000 until June this year.
The bank payments date back from May 2018 when she took the oath of office as the deputy governor, until May this year.
Through lawyer Kamotho Njomo, the respondents say Ms Karugu’s monthly pay was stopped after a routine staff-return report that was prepared at the end of the 2020/2021 financial year.
The report showed that Ms Karugu could not be accounted for because she had not been reporting to work.
According to the duo, Ms Karugu absconded duty as deputy and member of the County Executive Committee (CEC) from August 2019, without giving any explanation.
“But despite that, the county government continued to remit her salary until June this year when the report unveiled the allegations,” the respondents through their lawyer told the court.
Withholding her salary
Ms Karugu moved to court last month suing her boss and the county secretary.
Besides withholding her salary, she accused the two of failing to allocate her fuel allowances since June 2018 and house, entertainment and periodical phone allowances since November 2018.
But in their defense, the respondents say the Salaries Remuneration Commission (SRC) guidelines only allow county governments to pay rent for official residences of the deputy governors, governors and speakers.
According to them, the deputy governor has refused to take up her official residence within Nyeri County, instead opting to reside in Nairobi.
The court document also shows that prior to becoming the Deputy Governor in 2018, Ms Karugu was not a resident of Nyeri.
“But on being appointed, she had agreed to relocate to the county for the ease of execution of her mandate but up until now she is yet to move,” says lawyer Njomo in the court papers.
The respondents accuse the deputy county boss of making exorbitant claims for fuel allowances, claiming that she ought to be driven to and from Nairobi to Nyeri daily.
According to them, before the fuel allowances were reduced, Ms Karugu’s claims for fuel had started to cripple the entire county government fleet including emergency services such as ambulances and fire engines.
This is because fuel is allocated equitably to all county government vehicles operating within Nyeri but if traveling outside the county for work, all county employees are mandated to an extra allowance.
In the suit, Ms Karugu claims a refund of Sh442,107 fuel expenses that she has had to incur while discharging her duties.
But the respondents want Ms Karugu to provide evidence that the unpaid fuel expenses have been incurred while discharging her official duties and not from private errands.
In the court papers dated October 15, Mr Gachichio and Governor Kahiga also accuse the deputy county boss of repairing her official government vehicle at a private garage that is not pre-qualified to service government vehicles.
Transferring staff
Ms Karugu allegedly took her vehicle to J.E. Autocare Garage for repair where she incurred Sh20,700. She later presented the invoice to the county government for a refund.
Lawyer Njomo says the money cannot be refunded because it will be a breach of the Public Procurement and Assets Disposal Act.
In the suit, the duo is also accused of failing to allocate the deputy governor’s office security and transferring her staff to other departments.
As a result, the deputy county boss claims she incurs Sh15,000 monthly from hiring guards to protect her.
But Governor Kahiga and Mr Gachichio have denied the allegations saying that they have always allocated a security officer to Ms Karugu.
They say that instead, she has insisted on being assigned more security officers without giving a justification for her unique case.
“All deputy governors across the country are required to only have one security personnel assigned to them, unless they give a special reason as to why they require more,” the respondents say through their lawyer.
Other accusations are that Governor Kahiga and Mr Gachichio have transferred the deputy governor's staff to other departments and locked up her Deputy Governor’s office since November 2019.
In their requests, they have asked the Labour court to dismiss the suit citing that it lacks the jurisdiction to determine the case on the grounds that there lacks an employee-employer relationship between the deputy county boss and the Governor or his county secretary.
The case continues on October 19.
