Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has stated that it will take dire actions against its staffer, Tabitha Mutemi for taking up a role by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK).
Through a statement dated March 1, 2021, IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati revealed that the commission was not consulted for Ms Mutemi’s appointment as a board member at MCK despite being their employee.
Thus, Chebukati stated that relevant procedures will be followed to take appropriate actions for the same.
“IEBC was neither consulted nor notified of Mutemi’s employment as a board member of MCK. The commission will undertake action at an appropriate time in accordance with the IEBC act and HR manual,” Chebukati said in the statement.
Read: Major Brawl Looms In MCK Over Appointment Of IEBC Officer Tabitha Mutemi to the Board
Ms Mutemi was appointed to the board by ICT CS Joe Mucheru, but it later emerged that she was an employee of the IEBC.
The appointment resulted in a major brawl with reports indicating that CS Mucheru could have been misled by the selection panel into appointing Ms Mutemi, since he had already directed that all government officers be left out in the exercise.
The panel still forwarded Ms Mutemi’s name to the CS to be appointed as a board member for MCK.
“It has come to the attention of the Ministry that the Selection Panel has interviewed and proposed candidates for appointment to the Board of the Council who currently hold office In Government. I direct that the Panel incorporates fairness in the selection process by applying uniform selection criteria to all applicants and ultimately furnish my office with the names of suitable candidates for appointment,” said Mucheru in the letter.
Following the revelation, MCK wrote to the Office of the Attorney General seeking an advisory on the same.
In its reply through director-general Kennedy Mageto, the office of the Attorney General said that indeed Ms Mutemi was holding two public jobs contrary to the law, recommending she leaves one.
Consequently, on January 11, 2021, MCK CEO David Omwoyo wrote to the board chairman Maina Muiruri, saying that he does not recognise Ms Mutemi as a legitimate board member.
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