by Jeremiah Kiplang’at

Cabinet Secretaries and other top public servants seeking elective offices in the August 9 General Election have only three working days to quit their plum jobs following a directive by the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua.

In a letter dated January 28, Kinyua asked the CSs, Chief Administrative Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and other senior government officials interested in running for elective office to vacate by Tuesday next week.

Kinyua sought to clear the air following growing uncertainty linked to a string of cases in court challenging a section of the Elections Act that require non-designated State officers who want to vie to leave office six months to the polls.

With elections set for August 9, the officials must quit by February 9.

Designated officers like the President, Deputy President, Senator, MP, and MCAs are exempted from this section allowing them to continue serving until the next occupants are sworn in or the Houses are dissolved a few months before the elections.

The High Court has since ruled the officers should leave.

Justice Anthony Mrima last week dismissed an application by Eric Omari Wanyamah to declare Section 43 (5) of the Act unconstitutional on grounds that it discriminated against civil servants.

The judge said the matter had already been determined by the court in 2012 and hadn’t been appealed yet. 

Kinyua’s directive, however, implies that the officers should pack and go without waiting for any other court’s decision. 

State corporations

“It is notified that all non-exempted State Officers and all public officers who intend to seek elective posts in the 2022 General election schedule for 9thAugust, 2022 are required to resign from their office at least six months before the date of the General election. In that regard and as set out in Gazette Notices Number 430/1/2/3/4/5 of 20th January 2022, such non-exempted state officers and all public officers are required to vacate office on or before 8th February 2022,” said the Head of Civil Service.

Also affected by the directive include chairpersons of constitutional commissions, chairpersons of state corporations, chief executive officers of constitutional commissions and State corporations and all public officers who are also expected to follow suit.

The CSs, CASs, PSs and chairpersons of commissions will be expected to tender their resignation to the office of the President.

A number of CSs, including Ukur Yatani (National Treasury), Charles Keter (Devolution), Peter Munya (Agriculture), Sicily Kariuki (Water) and John Munyes (Mining), are said to be preparing to quit.

CASs John Mosonik (Petroleum), Gideon Mung’aro (Devolution) and Beatrice Elachi (Public Service) on Tuesday confirmed they had handed in their resignation letters and were waiting for the greenlight to leave.

Other CASs said to be eyeing elective seats in the August General-Election include Joseph Boinnet (Tourism), Ken Obura (East African Community), Chris Obure (Transport), Simon Kachapin (Sports) and Patrick Ntutu (Labour).

Also targeted by the memo include Principal Secretaries such as Fred Segor (Wildlife), Hamadi Boga (Agriculture), Charles Sunkuli (Youth Affairs) and Safina Kwekwe (Tourism).

Before they are let go, however, the officers will have to hand over all State properties under their care in addition to preparing comprehensive hand-over notes indicating the status of the flagship projects and other engagements their offices are involved in.

“Accordingly, and by the way of this circular, those non-exempted State officers and all public officers are required to hand-over all public assets under their charge and to prepare comprehensive hand-over notes to facilitate a smooth transition and hand-over, which should be received by the office/officer designated below on or before 8th February 2022,” the circular says.

As the deadline nears, eyes are trained on President Uhuru Kenyatta who will have the difficult task of filing the dozens of vcancies to avert a crisis in government as the country enters a critical moment ahead of the elections.

For the vacancies in the Cabinet, the President could either choose those remaining to take over the abandoned dockets in an acting capacity or nominate new faces who will have to go through vetting in the National Assembly first before formal appointment.  It will be the first time the country will be finding itself in this situation as senior officers avoided plunging into elective races ahead of the last elections.

The county governments have also issued timelines for officers to resign with Elgeyo Marakwet County setting February 5 as the deadline for handing in the quit notices. Former Rift Valley Regional Coordinator George Natembeya was the first high-profile officer to leave two weeks ago after announcing his desire to be the next governor of Trans Nzoia.

People Daily reported yesterday of an imminent mass resignation in government as dozens of officers prepare to leave to try their luck in the murky world of politics.