Anger as governor brings back rejected Chief Officer nominee

A clash is looming between Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi, local activists and MCAs over a nominee rejected by the county assembly in May.

Local student leaders and rights groups have piled pressure on Mr Kingi to explain why he believes Ibrahim Alio, a native of Mandera who worked in Marsabit as a county executive, must be the county’s chief officer for public health five months after the House rejected him.

Mr Kingi has sent the nominee's name back to the county assembly for vetting and approval but the activists want to know why Kingi cannot nominate someone else for the position.

The governor is said to be lobbying hard to ensure that the sectoral committee on Health and the county assembly’s plenary approve Mr Alio to avoid the embarrassment he encountered on May 16, when the MCAs voted to reject him after questioning his credibility and past record.

Academic certificates

On May 16, MCAs raised questions about Alio’s academic certificates and past professional record, claiming the documents he submitted were not certified by any of the examining or professional bodies and that he had not attached any recommendations from the places he claimed he had worked before.

Kibarani Ward MCA John Mwamusti said he opposed Alio’s candidature because information on his performance as an executive in Marsabit was missing.

But Kingi told journalists last week that he believed the county assembly had no reason to reject Alio.

“… the assembly filed a report to me and upon scrutiny I did not find reasons why I could deny the nominee a job and I wrote back to the assembly requesting it to vet the nominee again,” Kingi said in Malindi.

Kilifi County University and College Students chairman Fikiri Jacobs accused the governor of ignoring the popular will of Kilifi residents and the MCAs.

“I wish to state that following the Hansard report of the county assembly, MCAs cited a number of loopholes in the education qualifications of the nominee. The degree was not certified and there were no KCPE or KCSE certificates,” said Mr Fikiri.

Meanwhile, Public Health committee chairman Harrison Mweni defended the governor's decision to resubmit the nominee's name to the assembly.

“The law is very clear that the governor has a right to resubmit the name for fresh vetting. He is not outside the law,” said Mr Mweni, adding that the committee’s report would be published in a week.