Ethnic bias questions over hiring of Joseph Kinyua

The appointment of Joseph Kinyua to the powerful position of Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service sparked heated debate in the National Assembly on Wednesday after some MPs questioning its legality, citing ethnic bias.

Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo said the appointment had raised questions saying: “It perpetuates the view that the President is surrounding himself with people of a particular community.”

Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso referred the matter to the House committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.

“This is really a question of interpretation of the Constitution and so the committee should take up the matter,” she directed.

Suba MP John Mbadi and some MPs questioned President Kenyatta’s appointment of Mr Kinyua to the State House job, arguing that it breached the law.

Majority Leader Aden Duale put up a spirited defence of the President’s appointment of the former long-serving Treasury Permanent Secretary to the new position, maintaining it was within the law.

The appointment did not require competitive recruitment as demanded by the MPs.

According to the Majority Leader, President Kenyatta consulted and got approval from the Public Service Commission in April to create the position. He appointed Mr Kinyua in September.

However, the MPs insisted that the President had breached the law, demanding that Parliament must be consulted for approval of the position. Mr Mbadi said the commission must also be involved.

“This House cannot allow the President to appoint without following due process,” Mr Mbadi said. “There is no position in the public service that one can occupy by being appointment by an individual; this is not an office he can create at his own pleasure,” he added.

Mr Duale argued that Mr Kinyua was not a State Officer.

Mr Mbadi had demanded to know if the position was in the civil service, and, if so, whether the appointment was through a competitive process as required by the Constitution.

The member questioned the functions of the office, and whether they overlapped with those of the Office of the Secretary to the Cabinet, currently held by Mr Francis Kimemia. He also questioned whether the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service will be attending Cabinet meetings.

Mr Duale said the position had combined the offices of the Chief of Staff and that of the Head of Public Service established in the Constitution.