Ethnic differences among staff members in the former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s office have been exposed by a recent audit.46% of the workforce was from a single ethnic group, according to the report of Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.
Of the 542 workers in Gachagua’s office, 249 were members of the same ethnic group, the report stated.
According to the report, “of the 542 employees in the Office of the Deputy President, 249 are members of one ethnic community, accounting for 46% of the total number of employees.”
This was against the National Cohesion and Integration Act (NCIA), 2008’s Sections 7(1) and 7(2), which set forth rules for public office workers and human resources.
This Act mandates that the employment of all public institutions must represent the diversity of Kenyans, with no public institution having more than one-third (⅓) of its personnel belonging to the same ethnic group.
But the audit doesn’t say which ethnic group was engaged.The same office’s non-compliance with the minimum net salary guideline is also highlighted in the report.
Upon reviewing the office’s payroll, it was discovered that 42 employees were paid less than one-third (⅓) of their base wage in different months of the year.
This was against the Employment Act, 2007’s Section 19(3), which stipulates that an employer’s total deductions from an employee’s pay cannot be greater than two-thirds (⅔) of their earnings.
Gachagua was impeached in 2024 on five charges of “gross violation” of the Constitution, which included intimidating judges and participating in politics that polarised ethnic groups.
By Kenyans