Parliament has recommended the immediate reinstatement of six Kenya Forest Service (KFS) senior managers who are on suspension.
A report by the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Environment noted that the officials led by Emilio Mugo, Chief Conservator of Forests who were sent packing in March were suspended irregularly by the outgoing KFS board.
"The Committee finds the suspension of KFS senior managers to have been done illegally and unprocedurally by the former Chairman of KFS Board," reads the report that was tabled in Parliament on Thursday.
Apart from Mugo, Patrick Nyaga (Senior Manager, Finance and Administration), Dedan Gatiki (Assistant Chief Conservator of Forests, North Rift) and Boniface Simiyu (Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests, Plantations and Enterprise) had also been suspended.
Others officials also sent on compulsory leave by the KFS board included; Francis Kariuki, (Assistant Chief Conservator of Forests Eastern Conservancy, Embu) and Cosmas Ikiugu, Assistant Chief Conservator of Forests (Central Highlands).
"The Committee recommends that the KFS senior managers be immediately reinstated and any fresh action be procedurally done," adds the report by the House Team which is chaired by Maara MP Kareke Mbiuki, in part.
The ouster of the six individuals had put Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko on a collision path with MPs, with a section of the lawmakers pointing accusing fingers at him for allegedly being behind the suspension of the officials
This is because the officers led by the KFS boss were asked to step aside hours after they accompanied Mr Tobiko on a tour of Thogoto Forest, Ngong Road Forest, Oloolua Forest and Kibiko Forest.
Immediately the news of the sending home of the officials became public, MPs from Embu region led by Senator Njeru Ndwiga started baying for the blood of the minister, who they alleged acted arbitrary in the matter.
MPs from the same region John Muchiri (Manyatta), Geoffrey King'ang'i(Mbeere South), Muriuki Njagagua(Mbeere South), Eric Muchangi( Runyenjes), and Patrick Munene (Chuka-Igambang'ombe) demanded the immediate reinstatement of Mugo and his colleagues.
But the CS while appearing before the House team on March 29 absolved himself from blame in the matter, noting that Mr Mugo and his counterparts were suspended by the institution's board led by Chairperson Peter Kinyua, who was present at the session.
“I do not sit at the board, which has all the information regarding as to why the officials were asked to step aside pending disciplinary action. The board chairperson only shared their decision with me, which I made public," the CS told MPs.
“My understanding though is that nobody has been fired. A probe has been launched and those who will be to be clean will be cleared. The continued stay of the officers in office while they are under probe will have impeded investigations," added Tobiko.
During the meeting, Mr Kinyua, whose tenure as the KFS board chairperson expired on March 31, shocked lawmakers after admitting that his spouse runs a popular restaurant situated in the middle of Karura Forest in the outskirts of Nairobi City.
He explained to the MPs that his wife is the proprietor of The River Café that is frequented by high-end clientele, noting he sees no conflict of interest in the matter. He explained that she has been running the business one and half years before he became the board chairperson.
In the report, the committee recommends that the outgoing KFS Board boss be probed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission( EACC) for possible conflict of interest and abuse of office contrary to section 101 of the Penal Code and Public Officer Ethics Act 2003.
"If found culpable, he should be barred from holding any public office," reads the report in part.
The legislators in their report have directed CS Tobiko to immediately reconstitute the KFS board, with utmost attention to integrity and independence of incoming board members, to replace the former board whose term expired on March 31, 2018.
