The acting Nairobi County Secretary Patrick Analo who also doubles as the Head of Public Service is on the spot for allegedly orchestrating removal of the immediate former Nairobi County Ward Development Fund Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Josephine Kithu from office to ostensibly settle political scores pitting the assembly and the executive headed by Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja, The Informer Media Group can authoritatively reveal.
It emerged that Kithu has been reduced to a vagabond within City Hall corridors after her unceremonious and dramatic ejection from office in July this year under guard of the constables drawn from the Nairobi Inspectorate Department.
Kithu’s woes escalated after Finance department where she was re-deployed but was not assigned any duties failed to accommodate her rendering her a nomadic officer.
Investigations by The Informer Media Group established that on n August 3, 2023, Kithu wrote to the County Secretary explaining how she was forcefully ejected from office during the July 14 incident. She was later handed over a letter, dated June 13,2023 directing her to report to the County Executive Member for Finance.
The letter said the officer was supposed to be assigned other duties on the Finance docket.
However, Kithu said, this has never happened despite reporting to work daily.
The Nairobi City County Assembly Labour Committee has since demanded a full account of how Kithu’s removal as the WDF CEO was done and how her replacement was hurriedly done.
“No one has deployed her to any department or any sector. She is still in the corridors of City Hall but earning a salary. You (the executive) told her to step aside to allow an audit to be carried out. Is there any report in this regard?” South C Member of County Assembly (MCA) Abbas Khalif said.
Abbas further demanded to know if a County Secretary would be in a position to send someone on leave noting it is the investigative arm of the government that would request for a certain person to step aside.
Her replacement has been appointed in an acting capacity.
This revelation was laid bare during an investigation by the Nairobi City County Assembly Labour Committee on the removal of Kithu as the CEO and how her replacement was hurriedly done.
Boroughs Administration Executive Patrick Mbogo and acting Nairobi County Secretary Patrick Analo who is also the Head of the Public Service confirmed that Kithu was formerly removed as the WDF CEO.
The ward representatives heard that on July 14,2023, Kithu was thrown out of office under the watch of constables from the county Inspectorate Department.
A video of her ejection from office went viral with fresh reports now indicating that Kithu had been moved to the Finance but was never accommodated in the new department.
Analo said he came into office around April 2023 when the County Assembly was already dealing with questions over the Ward Fund.
The legislators claimed the person who was appointed to replace Kithu was not vetted nor appointed by the Public Service Board.
Analo said he was requested to appoint another person to act in the office since “I am equally the Head of the Public Service Board”. He said.
“After the audit of Financial Year 2022/23, the officer was requested to proceed on leave of 30 days, while enjoying all her privileges, to allow an audit of her office. The CEO was not removed from office but transferred.” Analo said.
The committee sought to establish the exact office the Kithu was deployed to and if her new role would have the same capacity as the office she was interviewed for and appointed to.
Nominated MCA Joyce Kamua said it was unfair that county constables were tasked to eject Kithu, describing the act as degrading.
“When she started inquiring why she had been removed, that is the time you deployed her to an office that did not exist and does not exist even now. Is this the best way to treat your officers?” Kamau said.
