CS Ezekiel Machogu is Under Pressure for Appointing Only Kisii in His Education Ministry
CS Ezekiel Machogu is under pressure for appointing only Kisii in his education ministry. Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu found himself at the center of controversy yesterday as Members of Parliament criticized recent appointments in his ministry, alleging tribal favoritism.
Lawmakers from the Public Investments Committee (PIC) on governance and education, chaired by Bumula MP Wamboka Wanami, accused Machogu of consistently appointing individuals from his tribe whenever vacancies arise. They directed Auditor General Nancy Gathungu to conduct a special audit of the ministry’s appointments.
The debate erupted when MPs reviewed a gazette notice detailing key personnel appointments at various universities. They claimed eight of the ten people appointed were from Machogu’s tribe.
For instance, Angelia Obaga, Peter Gathirwa, and Tabitha Nyandie were appointed as council members at Kabianga University. At South Eastern Kenya University, Fancy Kemei and John Ondari were appointed council members, while Ben Momanyi was appointed to the Kirinyaga University council. Angelica Obaga was appointed council member at Multimedia University, and Lawrence Okelo and Vincent Moseti were appointed commission members at the Commission for University Education (CUE).
Wamboka alleged that in the case of Kaimosi Friends University, the CS appointed his associates instead of qualified individuals.
Wamboka stated, “It is not a coincidence that the Minister of Education is a Kisii and makes half of his appointments from Kisii. A cabinet minister who is a Kisii only appoints Kisiis, which is very wrong. This is a concern running through your ministry and other departments. With this regard, we are directing the auditor general to carry out a special audit of ethnic composition at the ministry of education.”
He added, “The names that have been read out, six out of eight appointees are Kisiis. It actually embarrasses you for this. This is actually a moral issue.”
Narok Woman Representative Rebecca Tonkei questioned the fairness of having 80 percent of the appointees from one tribe, according to the gazette notice.
In his defense, Machogu denied appointing his cronies and urged the committee to consider all appointments rather than focusing on one gazette notice.
He said, “I have not appointed 80 percent of my community members. In Kaimosi University, I have not appointed my cronies, as is being alleged.”
Machogu also clarified that in the last year, his ministry appointed vice-chancellors to 14 universities, including Alupe, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Machakos University, Technical University of Kenya, Tharaka University, Pwani University, Karatina University, Kisii University, South Eastern Kenya University, University of Eldoret, Jaramogi University of Science and Technology, Kabianga University, Tom Mboya University, and Maasai Mara University.
However, he expressed concern over the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) delays in concluding the appointments of vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors.
Regarding Kaimosi Friends University, Machogu explained that while the PSC had completed recruiting a substantive Vice Chancellor, the appointment was halted due to a court order.
He added that at Kaimosi University, two acting deputy vice-chancellors, Prof. Julius Kemboi (Academic, Student Affairs, and Research) and Prof. Maurice Musasia (Finance and Development), are still pending recruitment.
To address the delays caused by the Public Service Commission’s involvement, Machogu revealed that legislative proposals had been drafted to vet the mandate of appointing vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors in the respective university councils in consultation with the cabinet secretary without involving the Public Service Commission.
Additionally, the committee announced plans to invite the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate individuals in the Ministry of Education who colluded with private universities to inflate their capacities and send double allocations after Machogu admitted that they could not account for approximately Sh 24 million sent to private universities as capitation.