Directors face chop in ministry sweep

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe’s promise to clean up his ministry has taken off with top officials of the National Quality Control Laboratory (NQCL) being targeted.

In an eight-page internal memo to Mr Kagwe, the ministry’s legal division has accused NQCL Director Hezekiah Chepkwony and senior deputy director Pius Wanjala of failing to develop and implement a disciplinary policy/code of conduct, and conflict of interest, respectively. They have also been accused of resisting transfers from NQCL.

Dr Wanjala is also accused of appearing in “no less than 10 cases” filed between 2016 and 2019 affecting the operations of the pharmaceutical industry in Kenya.

But in what is quickly turning into a drama, the NQCL board, in an advert in the Saturday Nation, defended the two top officials.

“This is to notify members of the general public that the director of National Quality Control Laboratory, Dr Hezekiah Chepkwony, and the senior deputy director Dr Pius Wanjala are public servants deployed at the National Quality Control Laboratory and appointed by the board as director and senior deputy director respectively,” the statement signed by board chairman Paul Munyau read.

According to Mr Munyau, the CS has not transferred them to any other work stations as alleged.

Separately, Dr Wanjala blamed his woes on the position he has taken regarding the appointment of the chief executive officer at the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB). He was an interested party in the case that quashed the appointment.

“The allegations of conflict (of interest) being levelled against me were litigated in court and the court ruled against those who brought the case. If they want to bring the issues back, the simple thing would be to go back to the court and appeal,” said Dr Wanjala.

The same issues, he added, were taken to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and are under investigation by the commission. 

Mr Kagwe has repeatedly talked about the need to clean up the ministry over the unwillingness of some officers to take up transfers.

In the memo, the legal division says despite being a full-time employee of the ministry, Dr Wanjala has been engaging in full-time private practice at a law firm.

“Dr Pius Wanjala’s case, where he practices as an associate advocate with Masika & Koross Advocates and other surrogate firms while still being a public officer is a flagrant violation of the Public Officer Ethics Act, the Employment Act, the Constitution of Kenya and other applicable laws,” the memo states.

It says that allowing the NQCL deputy director to continue engaging in private business when he is still drawing a salary as a public officer is contrary to the provisions of Article 77 of the Constitution and sections 9, 11 and 12 of the Public Officers and Ethics Act.

“By engaging in private practice during working hours, the public officer in question is guilty of conflict of interest and abuse of office in the performance of his duties as a public officer. The same has a ripple effect of diminishing public confidence in the said office,” further states the memo.

It also accuses Dr Chepkwony and the board of failing to develop and enforce a disciplinary policy at the institution.

“Dr Hezekiel Chepkwony and the entire Board of Management of NQCL have failed to control Dr Pius Wanjala or members of its secretariat and have used public money to institute various proceedings in different courts against the government and have also failed to develop and implement a disciplinary policy/code of conduct to stop the wanton violation of the law and other malfeasance at NQCL,” the memo reads.

NCQL and the ministry have had a strained relationship since 2019 when former Health CS Sicily Kariuki ordered the removal of Dr Chepkwony and his two deputies, and sacked the board.

The matter ended up in court and on November 15, 2019, the court reinstated the board. Dr Chepkwony and his two deputies were reinstated two months later on January 31.

NQCL has also been engaged in a vicious sibling rivalry with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board for control of the lucrative business of making and importing pharmaceuticals.