A top official at the Teacher’s Service Commission has been sacked over allegations of corruption, abuse of office and soliciting for tenders from schools.
Deputy Chief Executive Kennedy Juma Mulunda is accused of using his position to intimidate more than 10 principals of different schools in Western and Nyanza to award him contracts.
Mulunda was terminated through a letter dated June 20th signed by Dr. Macharia. Prior to the termination, Dr. Mulunda had faced a disciplinary committee in January. Dr. Macharia, who is in charge of the secretariat staff , said she acted under instruction from the commissioners after investigations from the principals.
“Pursuant to the provisions of clause 10 of your employment contract, the commission has made a decision to terminate your employment contract with effect from June 20, 2022,” reads the letter by Dr Macharia.
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Dr. Jamleck Muturi, the chairman of the TSC, created a special committee to look into the claims of abuse of authority made against Dr. Mulunda and detailed the findings in a report in February.
Dr. Mulunda is accused of abusing his position on several occasions in 2020 and 2021 by harassing, coercing, and pressuring staffing officers to transfer multiple principals in Western and Nyanza outside of the authorized transfer matrix and against the commission’s transfer policy.
Additionally, he is charged with forcing principals of several public schools to violate the Public Procurement and Assets Disposal Act by giving contracts to businesses connected to him.
TSC had invited ten teachers from the regions who testified against Dr. Mulunda.
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One of them said that he had demanded that the school choose a company other than one of the prequalified suppliers to receive the tender for laboratory chemicals and equipment.
The principals of some of the schools informed the commissioners that Dr. Mulunda used board chairpersons to award contracts to businesses without according to procurement rules. He forced the principals of other schools to give his relatives the tenders.
The heads said that he threatened to remove principals who disobeyed his orders or actually ordered transfers as a form of discipline.
Another principal testified that Dr. Mulunda would visit schools, present vendors of different commodities, such as stationery and printing paper, and insist that the schools award the tenders to them, according to one principal who testified before the TSC investigation committee.
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Dr. Mulunda is also accused of intimidating commission officials.
The TSC’s notice of termination stated that Dr. Mulunda was invited to provide justification as to why his employment agreement could not be terminated on the grounds that he had violated the Public Officers and Ethics Act.
Dr Mulunda denied the allegations before the committee.
“The commission has carefully reviewed your case, the evidence presented before it as well as your written response and determined that you were guilty of the allegations raised against you which is in violation of the terms and condition of your contract,” said Dr Macharia.
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