Waiguru: I did not fire Rugut via SMS, but he had to leave

On May 7, two days before the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in a landmark visit to Kenya, Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru visited the National Youth Service headquarters in Ruaraka, Nairobi. She was received by the Director General, Mr Japther Kiplimo Rugut.    

A picture of the Cabinet Secretary planting a tree later emerged, probably as a mark of a successful visit. But a senior NYS official who attended a closed-door meeting with Ms Waiguru and her Principal Secretary Peter Mangiti said things were less than cordial as the Cabinet Secretary warned those who did not measure up to her vision that they would be transferred to the Sports ministry, or the counties.  

The most significant announcement was that the Chinese Premier would visit NYS on May 11. But according to the source, on the appointed day, Mr Rugut received a text message asking him not to attend the event. The long-serving administrator learnt that he had been transferred to the Sports ministry, just like his predecessor Japheth Mwania, and replaced by Dr Nelson Githinji.

It is an appointment that stirred controversy within the Jubilee Alliance and triggered debate on social media about ethnic balance in appointments and disrespect to senior civil servants such as Mr Rugut.  

But in an interview with the Sunday Nation on Friday, Ms Waiguru, who is emerging as one of the most powerful individuals in government, denied sacking Mr Rugut through SMS, adding that she followed proper procedures.

“He was not fired by SMS. He was not the only one. We released the director general and his deputy as well as other people because we needed to change the situation,” she said.

NOT BY SMS

On Friday, during a media briefing at State House, President Uhuru Kenyatta also denied Mr Rugut was relieved of his duties through an SMS.

“That is not true. What I can confirm is that yes, indeed, the officer who was in charge of NYS was moved to another State department in a normal reshuffle in government. And again, what I can say is that there will be more changes to come,” he said.

Dr Githinji, a former mid-level manager at Coca Cola who later had a brief stint as State House comptroller in the Mwai Kibaki administration, reported to NYS on the day the Chinese delegation visited alongside Deputy President William Ruto. But later in the week after President Kenyatta posted photographs on Facebook of Dr Githinji’s swearing-in, State House was forced to take down the post that had sharply divided opinion with more than 4,500 comments.

Ms Waiguru acknowledged she initiated the move to remove Mr Rugut within the laid down procedure, saying he and his team did not perform as expected.

Mr Rugut rose through the ranks to become a provincial commissioner in the last two regimes and had only served at NYS for a year.

Multiple interviews with officials at NYS said no questions had previously been raised on Mr Rugut’s performance and there were no complaints on supplies and equipment to recruits.

“We expected him to bring his own senior officials when he was appointed, but he opted to work with those he found here. However, we now believe it is some of those people that have worked with outsiders to undermine him,” said a senior officer, who requested not to be named.

Interviews with those privy to the matter confirmed a vicious fight at the institution over the control of billions of shillings from the government, donors and internally generated revenue.

In the 2013/2014 financial year, NYS received Sh7 billion from the government out of which about Sh5 billion was to construct small dams and water pans across the country.

The institution is also said to be generating about Sh600 million monthly mostly from the hiring out of equipment that include heavy machinery, drilling rigs, earth movers and vehicles.

But to add to the intrigues, NYS officials say political commentator and consultant Mutahi Ngunyi, famous for his “tyranny of numbers” prediction of a Jubilee win in the last General Election, was hired in February to spearhead restructuring.

It was not clear how Mr Ngunyi’s services were procured since no public advertisements were made. NYS insiders also questioned his skills in the area.

FISHY PROCESS

“Mr Ngunyi came with three other people and are sometimes based at the NYS premises but all we were told was they were consultants who would be working to restructure NYS.

We were, however, not told of his terms of reference or how he was hired,” our NYS source said, adding that the consultants’ contract was worth millions of shillings.

Ms Waiguru acknowledged Mr Ngunyi was indeed consulting for NYS but added he was only working for a company that had been given the job. The CS, however, declined to name the consulting firm nor the amount they were being paid. She referred the Sunday Nation to PS Mangiti for details, but his phone went unanswered.   

Ms Waiguru pointed out that the firm was hired through restricted tendering because NYS was a security outfit just like other uniformed disciplines and the consultant was expected to handle sensitive documents. 

When asked on Thursday whether Mr Ngunyi had the requisite know-how in restructuring organisations, the CS insisted he was bringing to the table skills just like any other consultant.

Mr Ngunyi has in the past strenuously denied consulting for President Kenyatta, but on Wednesday he told The Star newspaper that he now consulted for the government strictly as a business.

In the same interview he denied being Ms Waiguru’s political adviser, even though he mentioned nothing about his NYS role that has now been revealed.

Ms Waiguru has also defended the appointment of Dr Githinji, a civilian, to head a security outfit, saying there was no law that demanded a uniformed officer to be at the helm. Sources told the Sunday Nation the Devolution ministry has previously resisted attempts to transfer NYS to the Interior ministry.

SUPPORTED THE CS

The chairperson of the Public Service Commission, Mrs Margaret Kobia, supported the minister adding that the changes were necessary as a result of the radical transformation that NYS is undergoing.

Another controversial proposal that has been put forward by the consultants is to shorten the training period for recruits to facilitate the recruitment of about 20,000 youths a year as opposed to the current 4,000. The move is aimed at the Jubilee agenda of creating youth employment.

But NYS insiders say that in its current state the organisation has no capacity to take in such a large number of recruits.

On performance, the CS blamed Mr Rugut saying NYS was unable to deliver on its target of constructing 830 pans and 189 small dams this financial year. They only managed 80 pans.

She explained she was forced to give the job to water service bodies in areas they were supposed to be built resulting in the awarding of 550 contracts that are being carried out. Ms Waiguru now says the function of constructing the water pans and small dams in the next financial year would revert to the NYS.

In addition, the authority to incur expenses was withdrawn after only Sh1 billion had been committed by the Rugut administration.

But those interviewed say matters took a turn for the worse after completion of 50 pans when Mr Rugut resisted corrupt cartels that were keen on unprocedurally benefitting from the resources.

We were told of a senior officer who would make unauthorised visits to the field to demand kickbacks. When the matter reached Mr Rugut, he suspended the officer, a move that was not taken kindly.

From then on, authority to undertake some of the tasks and which initially came from the director general was being issued by some ministry officials without Mr Rugut’s knowledge.

QUESTION THE APPOINTMENT

On Saturday, Kericho Senator Charles Keter, a close ally of Deputy President Ruto, questioned the urgency of making the changes and said the job should have been competitively filled.

“I think the way it was done leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Why was it done on a weekend and yet the person had not committed an offence? You cannot act with such immediacy unless there is something. And yet Dr Githinji is a good man and an excellent individual. The President and the Deputy should discuss it,” said Mr Keter, adding that the matter was not expected to cause cracks in the ruling coalition.

Leaders from Mr Ruto’s Rift Valley backyard, where Mr Rugut comes from, have criticised the treatment of the respected administrator.