Joseph Kinyua’s appointment to State House unprocedural, MPs say

Joseph Kinyua. President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him as the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service last month.

By Alphonce Shiundu

Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya’s lawmakers put Majority Leader Aden Duale on the spot over the appointment of Joseph Kinyua to the powerful position of Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service. 

While Duale insisted that Kinyua’s appointment was legal, the MPs insisted that it was illegal and unprocedural. The MPs said Kinyua’s role as the boss of all the country’s public servants required that he should be vetted by the National Assembly.

The back and forth between the lawmakers and the Majority Leader made the Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso order that the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee to investigate the matter and clear the air on points of law.

The MPs noted that while the President could set up new offices based on the advice of the Public Service Commission, the holder of that office must be picked based on a transparent, competitive process as laid out in law. The MPs also noted that there was a potential of overlap in Kinyua’s job and that of Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia. Kinyua was appointed a month ago.

In the House on Wednesday, John Mbadi (Suba), Abdikadir Aden (Balambala), Nicholas Gumbo (Rarieda), Benson Makali (Kitui Central) and Chris Wamalwa (Kiminini) accused President Kenyatta of flouting the law in picking Mr Kinyua as Head of Public Service.

They said, while Kenyatta had a freehand to pick his Chief of Staff, he could not pick the most powerful figure in the Public Service without having him vetted by the representatives of the people, or subjecting him to an open process.

“Why should this House vet Cabinet Secretaries and the Principal Secretaries, yet this House is not given the opportunity to vet the person who they will be reporting to. This appointment has issues,” said Makali.

Mbadi added: “Our constitution is not ambiguous on how one can get an office in the Public Service”.

Tribalism

The MPs also said Kinyua had done his time in the Public Service and ought to retire. They said, his appointment was likely to point at tribalism, because, Kinyua is from the same community as the President.

“I have a lot of personal admiration for President Kenyatta. But, this appointment perpetuates the view that, like those who came before him, he’s surrounding himself with people from a particular community. Don’t you think the President was looking for a way to reward a trusted personal friend?” posed Gumbo.

Gumbo and Makali said the President should stop “recycling retirees” when there were ambitious younger people in the civil service who hoped to rise in their careers.

“Much as we acknowledge the capability of Mr Joseph Kinyua, there are also young civil servants who want to progress in their careers,” said Gumbo.

Duale replied that the President picked Kinyua based on a letter dated April 22 by the Public Service Commission. He said the Constitution allowed the President to make such appointments.

As Chief of Staff, Duale said, Kinyua manages all of the President’s staff at State House, and in all the State lodges in the country. The comptroller of State House is also under the Chief of Staff. As Head of Public Service, Duale said, Kinyua’s role is to coordinate the public service.

Duale clarified that Cabinet Secretaries will report directly to the President in the weekly Cabinet meetings held on Thursdays.

The Majority Leader told the House that Kinyua will not attend Cabinet meetings, and he will not participate in the meetings, unless he’s expressly allowed into the Cabinet meetings on “invitation”. He said there was no conflict in Kinyua’s role and that of the Secretary to the Cabinet.

Kimemia, the Secretary of the Cabinet is in charge of the managing Cabinet affairs and keeping all records of Cabinet meetings.