Harassment and bullying haunt civil servants in government offices

     Tom Odege of kenya union of civil servants    Photo:PHOTO MOSES OMUSULA

There is bullying in schools and then there is bullying in government.

Take Judith*, a telephone operator. Her smiling face and ever welcoming demeanour belies deep frustration and a seething anger that is engendered by stress and dissatisfaction with her employment.

Judith’s life at the workplace is miserable due to constant bullying.

The mother of two is a civil servant who would rather be working somewhere else, and not in the deceptively glamorous position of bureaucrats hobnobbing with power behind gleaming mahogany desks.

The problem, it turns out, is with her immediate boss.

But Judith’s is not an isolated case in the civil service. Reportedly, an army of junior officers are subjected to intimidation and work under the constant fear of being crushed by the boots of obsessive seniors who bully their away around the corridors of power with little regard to their subordinates. The victims, allegedly, are mainly women.

Bullying, an unsolicited, offensive and objectionable behaviour – is manifested in a number of ways, including, but not limited to, verbal, sexual, physical, racial or psychological abuse.

Tom Odege, the Secretary General of the Union of Kenya Civil Servants (UKSC) denies allegations that bullying is rampant in the public service. As far as he’s concerned, what’s more worrying is discrimination.

“It is not an issue to be a cause of worry since our members and civil servants in general are aware of their rights. It’s probably the reason why no complaints regarding bullying have been lodged with us. As a matter of fact, discrimination is the greatest concern, since officers in the public service prefer working with people from their tribe,” said Odege.

Discriminating juniors

COTU Chairman Rajab Mwondi was elusive about bullying in the private sector, maintaining that non-unionisable employees were more susceptible to bullying.

“Some people don’t want to join the union, yet it has been dealing with the problem. Those who are not in the union will definitely be bullied,” stated Mwondi.

Renowned psychiatrist Dr Frank Njenga maintains that bullying is rampant at the work place, where bosses openly discriminate against their juniors or employees, and sometimes even take out their personal and financial frustrations on subordinates who are innocent victims.

“It is a big problem in Kenya and is exhibited at different levels. It could be provoked by a number of factors, including gender, ethnicity, educational background, experience or the boss’ frustrations,” notes Dr Njenga.

For Judith and her ilk in the private sector, personal liberties and freedoms are abused by overbearing supervisors, who flex the muscles of their positions to the point of insensitivity, exploitation, ridicule, cruelty or plain pettiness.

At Judith’s workplace for instance, it is forbidden to turn up in trousers or sleeveless tops

Walking into other offices in the same building is frowned upon as unbecoming and you are not expected to be away from your workstation even for a short stint, regardless of the fact that one is expected to report at 6am and toil until 6pm at the earliest.

But it is not only women who get browbeaten by seniors. Male employees, particularly security officers and personal aides to senior government officials have to put up with testy and abusive politicians, who expect nothing short of servile obedience from their kind.

Spanner boys

John* is a Personal Assistant (PA) to one of the MPs. Speaking ‘on behalf of other PAs,’ John claims that despite being ‘spanner boys’, ‘spin doctors’ and errand boys, they are not respected or appreciated by the ‘waheshimiwa’ (honourable MPs).

“Those who have no idea what this position entails would envy the role of a VIP’s PA. But things are not as rosy as you may think,” says John.

He narrates how they are belittled and sometimes even forced to run personal domestic errands for the bosses, almost doubling up as house helps, gardeners and farm hands.

“You’ll be surprised to learn that some PAs end up changing diapers of politicians’ children. If you are going to be a PA of some politician, you should always expect the worst,” he claims.

At Harambee House, junior employees are allegedly perennially tormented by there bosses who are apparently bent on stamping their authority by amassing power, demanding recognition and showing that they are in control by throwing their weight around.

Killed morale

This, according to a source who spoke on behalf of the victims, has killed morale and sent productivity on a downward spiral.

“For many years, employees in the section at Harambee House have been suffering quietly at the hands of their three bosses,” said the source who disclosed to us the names of the abusive supervisors and the departments they head.

According to the source, the torturous trio never go on annual leave, but are in the habit of taking frequent informal off-duty leave.

The source reveals that one of the bosses is apparently close to Mutea Iringo, the Principal Secretary, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, and openly brags that he can’t be transferred.

And true to his word, he was allegedly untouched during a 2008 reshuffle that saw mass inter-ministerial transfers. An officer who was marked to replace him was supposedly frustrated and later posted elsewhere.

No trousers for women

Female employees are offended by the discriminatory dressing code policy, which they say violates their rights.

“How come high-ranking female officers, including cabinet secretaries and even the chairperson of Public Service Commission and other employees in Harambee House, are allowed to wear trousers, yet this particular boss and his clique continue infringing on the rights of female officers by insisting that they are not supposed to report to work in trousers,” wondered one of the male sources.

And should you be selected for a refresher or advance course in one of the many government institutions, you will apparently be required to forfeit your annual leave.

When contacted to respond to the claims, Iringo demanded to know the exact section where the alleged bullying was taking place at Harambee House, but never responded after we furnished him with the information.

Besides the Constitution protecting the rights of women, Kenya is also a signatory to the International Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (ICEDAW).

Locally, as outlined in section 117 of the Workers Compensation Act by the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), a supervisor has a duty to take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of workers under their supervision, and as a result, a supervisor must take all reasonable steps to prevent, where possible, or otherwise minimise, workplace bullying and harassment.

The directorate observes that workplace bullying and harassment can lead to injury, illness or death.