Acting Kitui County Secretary, Ms. Agnes Mulewa, has distanced herself from the controversial appointments to the Kitui Municipal Board, placing the blame squarely on Chief Officer for Urban Development, Mr. Evans Mutemi. Mulewa accused Mutemi of breaching the law and failing to declare a conflict of interest when appointing a relative of an officer in the Governor’s office.
Appearing before the Committee on Appointments on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, Ms. Mulewa confirmed that the letter authorizing the appointments of Kitui Municipal Board nominees was authored by Mr. Mutemi. She pointed out that despite his position, Mutemi is not a member of the Cabinet chaired by the Governor and does not have the authority to make such appointments.
“It has always been the tradition for appointments to come from the relevant departments for consideration. The Chief Officer is not an appointing officer, yet he took it upon himself to write to the Board regarding the advertisement of vacancies,” Ms. Mulewa explained to the committee.
She expressed concerns over Mutemi’s actions, stating, “We have a Chief Officer who is exercising powers he doesn’t have, acting on behalf of the Governor while bypassing his County Executive Committee Member (CECM), to whom he is accountable.
It’s unclear who delegated these powers to him, and it seems even the CECM might not be fully aware of the Board’s constitution, as the letter was only copied to him.”The Committee also questioned the significant delay in initiating the nomination process for the Kitui Municipal Board.
Ms. Mulewa revealed that the previous Municipal Board’s term had ended on September 26, 2023. Although the Kitui County Public Service Board advertised the vacancies on September 22, 2023, the shortlisted names were not forwarded to the Governor until January 22, 2024—four months later.
Regarding the Kitui Youth Link, Ms. Mulewa admitted that she was unaware the group was unregistered when their names were presented for nomination. “We did not verify the authenticity of the Kitui Youth Link because I did not request the registration certificate. If the association is not registered, then it does not qualify for a nomination slot on the Kitui Municipal Board,” she acknowledged.
Speaker Hon. Kevin Kinengo emphasized the seriousness of the situation, saying, “We are here to represent the public because serious issues have been raised concerning the nominees of the Kitui Municipal Board, and we need the best for our County.”The Committee is expected to compile a report for consideration by the full House in the coming days.
