Serves Kenyans diligently, Ombudsman tells public servants

The Commission of Administrative Justice has called on national and county government officials to serve citizens diligently without discrimination.

CAJ chairperson Florence Kajuju said citizens have the right to get government services and information, as required. 

“We do not want to hear people saying Garissa is not in Kenya. If you have complaints against any office, bring the issues to us to ensure we work on them and have your rights adhered to,” Kajuju said.

She spoke on Saturday after opening a regional office in Garissa. 

The office will serve residents of Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Tana River and Kitui.

In May, CAJ launched a Complaints Management Information System to bridge the gap without physical offices.

This is because complainants can access Ombudsman services online since CMIS can receive complaints and requests for information under the ATI mandate. 

“If you are not satisfied by how an officer has served you or you have been denied certain information, report to our offices so that we may help you,” she said.

“Our work is to ensure that all citizens get services as required, and to ensure that the county and national government employees deliver to the citizens.”

Kajuju asked residents to take advantage of the office to bring out issues that need to be addressed by different levels of government to ease governance and service delivery.

The Office of the Ombudsman is in six counties and 12 Huduma Service Centers namely; Kakamega, Nyeri, Embu, Kajiado, Nakuru, Kisii, Kwale, Meru, Nairobi (Teleposta Towers), Makueni, Taita Taveta and Bungoma.

Garissa office is the 6th regional office beside our other five offices in   Mombasa, Kisumu, Isiolo, Nyahururu and Eldoret. 

The Commission was part of the induction programme for the governors and their deputies.

A collaboration between the county governments and CAJ for mutual benefit as they deliver on their respective mandates was discussed.

Kajuju said having a county Ombudsman will strengthen internal complaints management and enhance Alternative Dispute Resolution in counties. 

On the issue of the issuance of national identity cards and travel passports, Kajuju asked the regional and county administrators to work on a plan to ease the process of vetting residents for IDs.

She called for the involvement of CAJ in the vetting process so that complaints may be reported and resolved on time.

“We have asked our regional commissioner to let our representative be a member of the vetting committee so that we may work together,” she said.

National Gender Equality Commission chairperson Joyce Mutinda, reiterated the need for more inclusion of Special Interest Groups in employment opportunities without discrimination.

Mutinda called for gender mainstreaming in all government institutions to ensure that 2/3 of gender rule is achieved.

“We are fighting for gender equality and non-discrimination. We want people to be given equal opportunities, especially the youth, women, people with disabilities and the minorities so that we can all move forward,” Mutinda said.

“We will look at the legislation and all the policies to make sure that they adhere to gender equality and are not discriminative.”

Edited by Kiilu Damaris