Kitui county assembly is scrutinising the academic papers of county executive committee members to verify it they are authentic.
MCAs last Wednesday afternoon approved a motion on an inquiry into all the CECs' qualifications by the committee on appointments. The committee is expected to table its finding in the assembly in 30 days.
The mover of the motion, Kanziku MCA James Munuve, said section 35(3) (b) of the County Government Act requires a CEC appointee to be a holder of a degree from a university recognised in Kenya.
“In order to run the county well, we need county executives who are qualified. We cannot employ unqualified people then pretend we are moving forward,” Munuve said when he moved the motion.
The motion seeks to mandate the committee on appointments to verify from relevant institutions all the academic documents submitted by CECs during vetting.
The committee is expected to make recommendations to the assembly within 30 if it finds fake papers.
Although the majority of the MCAs supported the motion, a few of them led by Matinyani Ward Representative Sylvester Munyalo opposed it.
“I don’t understand when this assembly turned itself into an investigative agency when we have the office of the DCI. All these employees brought the documents and were verified them. We found they qualified I, therefore, reject the motion as it stands,” Munyalo said.
But backers were forthright that the CECs’ testimonials must be verified as claims were rife that some got fake papers from River Road.
While supporting the motion, Ikutha MCA Geoffrey Mwalimu said that the keyword in Munuve’s motion was authenticity, meaning genuine in origin.
“We cannot sit down and assume nothing is happening when you hear people in the wards complaining,” Mumoni MCA Johnson Kanandu said.
