Kitui Health Jobs Scandal? Applicants Allege Shortlisting Mystery As Assembly Demands Answers

A Formal County Assembly Inquiry, A Court Challenge And Fresh Complaints Put Recruitment Transparency Under Scrutiny

Questions over the recruitment of health workers in Kitui County have intensified following allegations that appointment letters were issued without publicly visible shortlists, as the County Assembly separately demands answers over concerns surrounding recruitment by the Kitui County Public Service Board (KCPSB).

An applicant whose identity Channel 15 News has withheld for protection claims that appointment letters for positions advertised by the Kitui County Ministry of Health and Sanitation began being issued around August 2026, leaving some applicants uncertain about how successful candidates were selected.

The applicant says they submitted an application after the positions were advertised around February but never saw publicly accessible shortlists showing who had qualified for interviews.

The allegation comes as elected representatives seek a detailed account of the county’s recruitment processes, including the number of applicants, candidates interviewed, successful candidates and the geographical distribution of those hired.

“We followed the required application process and submitted our applications, hoping that the recruitment would be conducted fairly and transparently,” the applicant told Channel 15 News.

The source is calling for an investigation into how applications were assessed and why applicants were allegedly unable to access clear shortlisting information.

Channel 15 News has not independently established whether a shortlist was prepared but not published, whether interviews were conducted for the positions in question or whether any applicant was unfairly excluded.

Assembly Moves To Demand Answers

The concerns come against the backdrop of a formal statement request tabled by nominated MCA Hon. Deborah Kutungwa Mutuku during the Kitui County Assembly’s afternoon plenary sitting on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.

Acting under Standing Order No. 41(2)(c), Mutuku sought a statement from the Chairperson of the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare regarding the recruitment exercise undertaken by the Kitui County Public Service Board.

In her request, the legislator cited concerns raised by members of the public and other stakeholders, including allegations of geographical imbalance, nepotism, favouritism, corruption and a lack of transparency.

She asked the committee to provide a detailed account of the recruitment exercise, including the positions advertised, the number of applications received, candidates interviewed and the number of successful applicants.

The committee was also asked to establish whether the exercise complied with applicable constitutional and statutory requirements and the principles of fairness, transparency and competitiveness.

The demands go beyond the number of people hired.

Mutuku also sought a breakdown of successful candidates by sub-county and ward, alongside details of measures taken to promote equitable representation of communities across Kitui.

Another key issue concerns how recruitment outcomes were communicated to successful and unsuccessful candidates, including the timelines involved.

The statement request further sought details of complaints, petitions, objections and appeals submitted by unsuccessful applicants, members of the public and other stakeholders, as well as information concerning those grievances.

Speaker Hon. Kevin Kinengo Katisya referred the request to the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare and directed it to report back within 21 days.

The Assembly’s action does not amount to a finding that the recruitment was irregular. Rather, it creates a formal avenue for the relevant committee to seek explanations and examine the concerns raised.

What The Official Recruitment Notice Says

The county’s own recruitment notice provides an important point of reference.

An official Kitui County Government recruitment advertisement for applications closing on February 11, 2026, stated that only shortlisted and successful candidates would be contacted. It also indicated that shortlisted candidates would be required to produce their original identification and academic and professional documents.

That requirement makes it important to establish what communication applicants were given and how the selection stages were handled.

However, the notice alone does not establish that shortlists had to be published publicly or that the recruitment was irregular if an applicant did not see one.

The specific health-sector advertisement, the positions involved and the recruitment records must be examined to determine the procedures applicable to the vacancies raised by the anonymous source.

The central questions remain: Were candidates shortlisted? Were interviews conducted where required? How were successful applicants identified and notified? What mechanisms were available to applicants seeking clarification or challenging the outcome?

Kauta’s Court Challenge Adds Legal Context

The latest concerns also emerge against the background of a separate legal challenge by activist Francis Musili Kauta over Kitui County’s recruitment and selection procedures.

In Petition E009 of 2025, filed at the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Machakos, Kauta challenged the selection process involving senior county positions, alleging constitutional and legal violations and seeking, among other remedies, a declaration that the process was unfair and irregular.

In a ruling delivered on May 8, 2026, the court stayed the petition pending the outcome of an alternative dispute-resolution process before the Public Service Commission. The court’s decision did not establish that Kauta’s allegations were true.

The case concerned the selection of senior county officials. Channel 15 News has not established that it involved the particular health-sector recruitment raised by the anonymous applicant.

The case nevertheless provides broader legal context for questions surrounding county recruitment and the procedures available to people challenging recruitment decisions.

A Separate Health Committee Dispute

During the same September 23 Assembly sitting, the Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Health and Sanitation, Hon. Godfrey Muthengi Ndagara, responded to a statement request by Kyangwithya East MCA Hon. Boniface Maundu Katumbi concerning the exclusion of Kyangwithya East Ward from the distribution of health and sanitation projects.

The Assembly deemed the response unsatisfactory and granted the committee an additional 21 days to invite the County Executive Committee Member for Health and Sanitation and prepare a more detailed response.

The matter concerned the distribution of health and sanitation projects, not the recruitment allegations. It should therefore be treated as a separate issue rather than evidence of irregularities in hiring.

County Government Response Sought

The Kitui County Government, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and the relevant recruitment authority will be asked to clarify the recruitment stages followed, whether shortlists were prepared, how interview outcomes were communicated and what procedures unsuccessful applicants could use to seek a review.

Channel 15 News will also seek to establish whether the Assembly’s inquiry into KCPSB recruitment covers the specific health positions raised by the applicant and whether the committee has received any complaints relating to those vacancies.

Other applicants with relevant documentation are encouraged to share their accounts so the allegations can be independently assessed.

For now, the applicant’s claims remain unverified. The Assembly’s statement request and Kauta’s separate court challenge provide context for scrutiny of county recruitment, but neither establishes wrongdoing in the specific health-sector exercise.

The question now is whether the relevant authorities can provide a clear account of how the health jobs were filled and demonstrate that the applicable recruitment procedures were followed.

Channel 15 News will continue pursuing the matter in the public interest and will incorporate the county government’s response as the investigation develops.