- The recruiters are constitutionally required to submit three best candidates to the Cabinet Secretary for final appointment.
- The National Assembly’s Trade Committee questioned how Munya settled on Bernard Njiraini, who was ranked sixth in the interview.
Legislators on Tuesday put CS Peter Munya on the spot over recruitment of the current Kenya Bureau of Standard managing director "in total breach of the law".
Members of the National Assembly Trade Committee questioned how the CS settled on Bernard Njiraini who was ranked sixth in the interview.
Munya was at the time the Trade Cabinet Secretary. He is now in charge of Agriculture after a reshuffle last January.
The law provides for competitive sourcing of the CEO. The recruiters are constitutionally required to submit three best candidates to the Cabinet Secretary for final appointment.
According to documents tabled before the committee by Trade CAS Lawrence Karanja, Njiraini’s name was not among the three submitted.
His was one of the two additional names recommended by National Standards Council to the Cabinet Secretary for consideration.
The NSC had on August 28, 2019, forwarded to Cabinet Secretary the names of Geoffrey Karau Muriira, Nixon Kipkemoi Sigey and Martin Chesire as the top three candidates in order of ranking.
The council further recommended Ishmael Fahmy Shaiye and Njiraini from the shortlist.
“The council interviewed a total of 10 of the 11 shortlisted candidates and I am pleased to present to you the top three candidates in order of ranking to enable you to appoint a substantive managing director for the organisation,” NSC chairman Ken Wathome said in a letter to Munya.
The minister's pick contravenes Kebs Human Resource Manual which restricts appointment to the top-three candidates.
Karau was the best candidate at 78 per cent, Sigey (74), Chesire (72), Shaiye (66), John Wamwati (66). Njiraini was sixth at 64 per cent.
Committee chairman Kanini Kega (Kieni) directed the new Trade Cabinet Secretary, Betty Maina, to personally appear before them on Tuesday next week to respond to the issues regarding the Kebs CEO recruitment.
Trade CAS Karanja and Principal Secretary Francis Owino represented Maina at the meeting.
Kipkelion West MP Hilary Kosgei asked (on the floor of the House) the Trade CS to appraise Parliament on the process of selecting and appointing the Kenya Bureau of Standards MD. He said there was outside interference.
Kosgei accused the CS of interfering with the first interview on April 9, 2019. He claimed Sigei was the best in that interview followed by Chesir and Lukas Meso.
From the tabled documents, Munya ordered the re-advertisement of the post saying Deloitte Consulting, which conducted the interviews, made a blunder in arriving at the candidates.