Bungoma County has been exposed yet again as the most preferred assembly appointments are dashed to uncouth individuals.
At one point, Bungoma county government released procurement records which unearthed how the county was spending more than 100 thousand on a wheelbarrow.
The rotten underbelly in the recruitment process at the County Assembly of Bungoma can now be ripped open.
The belly has exposed a strong stench with dirty splashed and fingers pointed at the board members. An initial recruitment of four senior officers has brought to light a dirt scheme full of tribalism, nepotism, favoritism, massive corruption and arm-twisting.
The Board rejected one of its own Mrs. Rael Khisa who has threatened to expose the rot in the board. She had been shortlisted for the position of Deputy Clerk – Administration.
Board members who include Emmanuel Situma (Chairman), George Makari, Ben Kipkut and a one Mr. Mabele are said to be belging having filled their tummies with corruption loot. The Secretary Mr. John Mosongo who is the Clerk is said to have been precluded in the sharing of the monies. He is busy with campaigns for a parliamentary seat in his native Nyamira County.
Mukuyuni MCA Meshack Wekesa alias Museveni has been also mentioned as the link and synergy in the exchange of cash between applicants, the board and summit.
One Board Member is said have whispered in the corridors that they will use Mosongo to issue letters and sanitize the process. We explore each of the four positions independently to perhaps demonstrate the extent of the rot.
1. Deputy Clerk – Administration
The board has settled on Charles Wafula an officer from the Accounts department to occupy the slot. He is said to have bribed the board with more than sh3million to get the position. Mr. Wafula is a former Municipal Council of Bungoma employee. He does not meet the cut with regard to the qualifications that had been set. The money is said to have been delivered to Speaker Emmanuel Situma and along serving MCA who shared it between the board and the summit. Mr. Wafula’s job description in the accounts department has never been clear though he was serving in job group N. The new appointment elevates to job group R.
2. Mr. Leonard Momos
An incompetent junior Officer who failed his KCSE exams scoring a paltry C minus. Did not meet the cut and despite training for a Diploma in Education, TSC rejected him for not attaining the minimum academic requirements. He was never given a TSC registration number. He was teaching in a primary school academy before joining the County Assembly as a Clerk Assistant. He has been a trusted allay of the Speaker. He is said to have bribed his way through Board Member Ben Kipkut. Kipkut and Mabele colluded with the Speaker to lock out two senior County Assembly employees. Dennis Waswa – the Principal Hansard Editor at Job Group Q and Ignatius Wangila the Principal Legal Council at the Job group Q.
3. Julia Lunani
She has been picked for the Principal Finance Officer Position slot. Julia does not meet the cut for the position. She has no CPA-K which was a requirement for the position. She is said to have bribed the Speaker with Sh1.5million, each summit member with Sh200k and other MCAS loyal to the Speaker with the same amount. The money is said to have been stolen from the County Assembly coffers. The money the speaker received was used to roof his house in Marell Estate. Julia an officer at Job Group N has massive interests in real estate wit houses in Eldoret, Bungoma and Nairobi. She is currently constructing a mansion in her marital home in Kisii.Mr. Alfred Makokha, a competent Auditor and Accountant at the County Assembly was also left out. Its rumoured he may also not be considered for the Principal and Senior Audit position in favour of outsiders lined up by the board members.
4. Abraham Simiyu
Picked for the position of Principal Human Resource Officer. He has been serving as a payroll officer at Job Group J. Has no training in HR. His degrees are in project management, an area that is irrelevant to what was advertised. He bribed the Board through MCA George Makari. He was been stealing funds through fictitious payments of ghost workers and contract employees on the payroll. The current head of HR. Ms Anne Wekesa was bypassed for his junior both in age and the profession.
The scoring matrix being used has been manipulated to favor candidates who are not qualified.
For instance, all CPA-K holders were left out in favour of Julia Lunani. Senior officers at Job group Q were disqualified for the unqualified Momos and senior HR practitioners discarded for the untrained Abraham Simiyu who took a shortcut to attain CHRP qualifications.
Staff at the County Assembly are quietly said to be planning a revolt against the board. The board is said to be having its preferred list of staff it wants to reward.
The Speaker will be employing his brother Joseph Situma who is his PA as Research Officer 1.
Mr. Makari wants to employ his girlfriend Enid Papa as Clerk Assistant 1 and his brother as driver. MCA Kipkut will be employing his daughter as an Accountant. The Majority Leader has lined up his in law Diana Khaemba for the Principal Fiscal Analyst position (A position she does not qualify since she is a Finance Officer by training) while MCA Museveni wants to employ his son in procurement.
MCA Tindi wants his son employed as a Public Communications Officer 111 while MCAs Mwambu and Museve want to have their wives employed. Jemimah Kikechi who is shortlisted for Clerk Assistant position is a concubine to Hon. Musebe.
We shall provide a full list of the MCAS and their interests in our next publication. The EACC and other bodies should intervene and have the recruitment stopped. What is going on is illegal and perpetrators ought to be arrested.
Additional reporting by Linda Khang’ati
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