Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia orders workers out of Jogoo House

By GEOFFREY MOSOKU

Nairobi, Kenya: Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia is on the spot once again after he ordered hundreds of civil servants to vacate Jogoo House (A) building to pave way for Inspector General David Kimaiyo.

On Monday, Kimemia wrote to civil servants, who occupy the office ordering them to leave immediately, a move that has not gone well with the public officers.

The building, one of the oldest Government structure, is home to over 600 civil servants working for various departments.

“This is to notify you that the Government has allocated Jogoo House (A) building formerly the Vice-President’s office and Ministry of Home Affairs headquarters to the Inspector General, National Police Service Commission. Consequently, all current occupants are required to vacate immediately as the Inspector General has been instructed to move into the building immediately,” Kimemia’s letter date July 1, states.

Governors will also be affected as the building serves as Nairobi liaison office for their summit chaired by Bomet’s Isaac Rutto.

Yesterday, affected civil servants who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity, said they were confused following the instruction, which appeared to have defied protocol.

“We don’t know if we have been sacked or where we will move to. Ordinarily in terms of protocol, Kimemia cannot write addressing civil servants as ‘occupants’. He should have written to us through respective Principal Secretaries, who will then write to our bosses (directors) asking to organise for alternative offices,” a senior Ministry of Devolution staff said.

The Secretary to Cabinet copied the letter to Kimaiyo and Principal Secretaries of Devolution and Interior John Konchellah and Mutea Iringo respectively.

The employees also feel that Kimemai is intimidating them with the letter, which bears the letterhead ‘Permanent Secretary and Head of Public Service’, a position which has since been scrapped.

“The Ministry of Housing is making alternative arrangements for acquiring offices for Government officers,” PS Iringo said when asked about the fate of the staff. He did not elaborate when the Ministry of Housing will provide the offices given that Kimemia’s letter is not copied to PS Ministry of Housing.

Since Tuesday, police officers have been thronging Jogoo House asking civil servants to leave. Yesterday, when The Standard visited Jogoo House, we found three senior officers supervising arrangement of seats in the VIP boardroom, opposite the office last held by former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka on fourth floor.

Among those who have been rendered office-less is PS Konchellah, who has barely sat in his office for a week since his appointment last week. We did not find Konchellah in his office yesterday as he was said to be out in a meeting.

Cabinet decision

All the senior officers who worked under the defunct Local Government ministry and now Devolution ministry still operate from Jogoo House.

Government Spokesman Muthui Kariuki is among those affected as his office under the Department of Public Communication occupies a wing on third floor.

Mr Kariuki said Government will find alternative space for the workers. “There is a lot of movement within the Government and we are being relocated. Government cannot evict itself. The Government is aware that there are many people in Jogoo House and some place will be found for us,” he told The Standard.

The spokesman defended Kimemia’s letter saying it was procedural: “Kimemia has just communicated the Cabinet decision but the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development will find alternative space.”