- The agency said her appointment at MCK is not viable as long as she holds her current position.
- In a letter to Parliament on Monday, IEBC said it will take action against Mutemi "at an appropriate time".
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has said it was neither consulted nor notified about its communications manager Tabitha Mutemi’s appointment as a board member of the Media Council of Kenya.
The agency said her appointment at MCK is not viable as long as she holds her current position.
In a letter to Parliament on Monday, IEBC said it will take action against Mutemi "at an appropriate time".
The letter signed by Obadia Keitany on behalf of the chief executive officer invokes the IEBC Act 2011 and its human resource manual.
Section 16 of the IEBC Act says members and employees of the commission shall subscribe to a code of conduct, which they sign up for when accepting job contracts.
Members and employees of the commission are prohibited from holding other public offices during their tenure of office with the commission.
“This section clearly stipulates that a member or employee of the commission shall not during the tenure of office be eligible for appointment to another public office,” the letter says.
IEBC further cited the Leadership and Integrity Act which prohibits a full-time state or public officer from participating in other gainful employment.
“Consequently, Mutemi’s appointment as board member to MCK is not viable while still in employment of the IEBC as pronounced by the laws,” the letter reads.
The commission was responding to a petition by lawyer Muriuki Muriungi on behalf of KMK Africa Law Advocates.
Muriungi states that Tabitha has acted in gross misconduct and in breach of the Constitution and several other laws by holding two public offices.
He wants the National Assembly to recommend to the ICT Cabinet Secretary to appoint a tribunal to investigate the IEBC communications manager.
The petitioner further wants MPs to agree with him on the grounds for the removal of the IEBC communications chief as a member of the MCK.
The lawyer cited disregard for the advisory of the Attorney General and the ICT Principal Secretary to the effect that it was not tenable for her to lawfully hold two state or public offices.
Muriungi says Tabitha ought to have relinquished either her membership to the MCK or employment with the IEBC.
Section 14(3) of the MCK Act requires the National Assembly to conclude a petition for removal of a member of the council within seven days.
MPs on Thursday extended the period for consideration of the petition by a period of 14 days with effect from March 29.
Speaker Justin Muturi called on the ICT committee chaired by Marakwet East MP William Kisang to apply judicious attention and moderation when handling the matter.
“I implore the committee to exhaustively examine each of the grounds and the particulars claimed by the petitioner with a view to unequivocally determining whether or not the petition discloses grounds for removal of Mutemi from office,” Muturi said.
The issue gained traction after MCK chief executive David Omwoyo wrote to the council board that they wouldn’t recognise Mutemi as a board member due to the alleged illegality in her appointment.
It is a matter that drew the attention of the Kenya Editors Guild which argued against the procedure of removing the officer.
KEG president Churchill Otieno said the purported removal outside the procedures outlined in the Media Council Act would destabilise MCK.
National Assembly committee on ICT ruled that the IEBC communications manager continues to be a board member.
Edited by Henry Makori