Public Service Commission advertises position of EACC chairman
What you need to know:
- There are caveats in that applicants who have been convicted of a felony, are members of a governing body, have been removed from office for contravening the Constitution or are bankrupt are not eligible to apply.
- Former chairman Philip Kinisu bowed to pressure and resigned over allegations that a company linked to his family had business dealings with the National Youth Service (NYS).
The Public Service Commission has advertised the position of chairman of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
This comes barely a week after Philip Kinisu, who had held the job for less than a year, bowed to pressure and resigned over allegations that a company linked to his family had business dealings with the National Youth Service (NYS).
The advert that appeared on Wednesday in local dailies requires that applicants have a degree from a university recognised in Kenya and 15 years’ experience in any of various fields, including ethics and governance, law, economics, and public relations and media.
However, there are caveats in that applicants who have been convicted of a felony, are members of a governing body, have been removed from office for contravening the Constitution or are bankrupt are not eligible to apply.
The position of head of the EACC, the body mandated to fight corruption and maintain integrity in the public service, has not been a comfortable one for any of the people who have held it, as most of them have left office under controversial circumstances.
In May last year, Mr Kinisu's predecessor, Mumo Matemu, was also removed from office after the National Assembly argued that he was unfit to lead the war against corruption.
Mr Matemu’s tenure at the EACC was controversial from the start. He was appointed in 2012 into an office that had had a high turnover of bosses in the previous decade.
