By Habil Onyango
According to the provisions of Section 7(1) and (2) of the National Cohesion and Integration Act 2008, all establishments are required to seek to represent the diversity of the people of Kenya in the employment of staff.
It further stipulates that no public establishment shall have more than one-third of its staff from the same ethnic community.
Furthermore, Section 13 of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2003 states that the Council shall endeavour to secure the reservation of 5 per cent of all casual, emergency, and contractual positions in employment in the public and private sectors for persons with disabilities.
However, this might not be the case in 42 County Assemblies, where the majority of employees come from dominant communities, and some have even failed to include persons with disabilities (PLWD) in their management.
According to the Audit Report 2023/2024, only six County Assemblies met the constitutional threshold regarding the employment of staff.
The report states that a review of human resource records revealed that the County Assembly of Mombasa had a staff establishment of 137, out of which 66 staff members, representing 48 per cent, were from the dominant community in the county.
Furthermore, 76 staff members, representing 62 per cent of the total casual employees at the County Assembly, were from the dominant community.
In Kwale, out of the 72 County Assembly employees, 65—translating to 90.3 per cent—were from the dominant community.
“Under contractual temporary employees, the dominant community constituted 83 per cent,” reads the report.
In Kilifi County, the staff establishment shows that the County Assembly had 125 staff, including three PLWD, while 114, representing 91 per cent of the total employees, came from the dominant community.
The report further revealed that Lamu County Assembly had a workforce of 105 staff, of whom 82 individuals—representing 78 per cent of the total employees—hailed from one ethnic community.
Garissa County Assembly had 111 employees, exceeding the approved limit of 100 allowed by the Revenue Allocation Commission, resulting in excess employment of 11 staff members.
In Wajir County Assembly, the examination of the Assembly payroll for June 2024 indicates that it had a total of 169 employees. However, an analysis of employee data revealed that 99 per cent of them were from the dominant ethnic community, with only 1 per cent drawn from other ethnic communities.
Mandera County had 53 per cent of its 97 staff members drawn from one ethnic community, while Isiolo had 124, representing 62 per cent of its 200 staff, from one ethnic community.
Embu County recorded 150 employees—approximately 96 per cent of the total workforce—being from one dominant tribe, while in Tharaka Nithi, 23 staff members, translating to 79 per cent of the total 29 management-level staff (Job Group N-T), were from a dominant ethnic group.
Embu had 108 (49 per cent) out of 221, Kitui 133 (96 per cent) out of 138, and Machakos had 183 (93 per cent) out of 183 employees from one ethnic group.
According to Anne Gathungu, the County Assembly of Makueni had nine vacant positions at the entry-level during the year under review. However, all the posts were filled by candidates from the dominant ethnic community.
“This was contrary to Section 65 (1)(e) of the County Government Act 2012, which states that in selecting candidates for appointment, the County Public Service Board shall consider the need to ensure that at least 30 per cent of the vacant positions at entry level are filled by candidates who are not from the dominant ethnic community in the county,” said Gathungu.
In Nyeri County, 57 staff members (92 per cent) out of 62, 80 (95 per cent) out of 84 employees in Kirinyaga, and 88 (91 per cent) out of 97 County employees in Murang’a County Assemblies were found to be from one dominant ethnic group.
According to the report, only Nairobi, Tana River, Marsabit, Nyandarua, Laikipia, and Kiambu met the recommended threshold of the NCIC Act 2008.
In Kiambu County Assembly, the statement and receipt of payments, as well as Note 4 of the financial statement, reflect compensation of employees’ expenditure amounting to Sh. 571,271,477.00.
A review of human resource records revealed that the Assembly had 99 employees, out of which 83—representing 84 per cent—were from the majority ethnic group.
Furthermore, three employees recruited during the year belonged to the same dominant ethnic community.
All 204 out of 205 newly recruited employees at the Turkana County Assembly were from one ethnic community.
“This did not consider the diversity of the people of Kenya,” said Gathungu.
“Furthermore, it was noted that the appointment did not include any staff from PLWD or any other person who, for any reason, has been disadvantaged, as required by Section 13 of the PWD Act 2003, which states that the Council shall endeavour to secure the reservation of 5 per cent of all casual, emergency, and contractual positions in employment in the public and private sectors for persons with disabilities,” noted the AG.
In West Pokot, it was revealed that out of 87 ward staff members, 94 per cent, 32 senior management staff, 81 per cent, 59 middle management staff (94 per cent), and 79 support staff (95 per cent) were from the dominant ethnic community.
Samburu had 77 (84 per cent) out of 91 staff, while 91 (55 per cent) out of 165 in Trans Nzoia and 122 (92 per cent) out of 132 members of the staff in Uasin Gishu were found to be from one ethnic tribe.
Elgeyo Marakwet had 243 permanent employees, of whom 99 per cent (240) were found to be drawn from one ethnic community.
The Assembly had also recruited 134 employees in the previous year, all from the dominant community.
In Nandi County, 103 (94 per cent) out of 126 staff, while 93 (95 per cent) out of 98 employees in Kericho, were from one ethnic group.
“Furthermore, eight new employees in Kericho were recruited in the year under review, all from one ethnic group,” reads the report.
In Baringo County Assembly, 103 (82 per cent) out of 126 employees were from one ethnic tribe.
The total number of staff (126) exceeded the approved staff establishment ceiling of 100 employees by 26 staff members.
“The overstaffing not only contravenes regulatory requirements but also indicates a lack of adherence to proper personnel management set by the Commissioner of Revenue Allocation.”
Nakuru had 67 (53 per cent) out of 126, while out of 11 key management positions, nine staff members were from one dominant tribe.
During the year under review, the Assembly recruited six employees for the positions of waiters, clerical officers, supply chain management, and chefs; however, five of them were from one dominant ethnic community.
The report further revealed that the Narok Assembly had 49 Members of the County Assembly, comprising 30 elected and 19 nominated ones, against the set limit of 47 MCAs.
