House Clerk recruitment marred by bribery allegation

Bribery allegations has thrown a kink in the process of appointing a new Clerk of the National Assembly.

Last week, Ugenya MP David Ochieng’ said that one candidate had “bought all members” of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) and had been bragging to other workers that he would get the job.

“Many members of staff who applied for the job have asked me what they should do because there is a person who has bought all the commissioners, including you, Mr Speaker,” he told the House on Thursday.

Ochieng’ urged Speaker Justin Muturi – who is the chairperson of the PSC – to take charge of the process and ensure the House convenes for an informal sitting after the party primaries to discuss the issue.

It is speculated that the PSC commissioners might have pocketed between Sh500,000 and Sh1 million each to favour a certain candidate.

“Parliament is a key institution that should not be appointing individuals based on bribes.

The position of the clerk should go to the most competent person who can guide members well,” said an MP.

Muturi said: “It is an active matter and it would be breach of our rules and procedures to comment about it publicly. It is still work in progress.”

Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wa said it would be an injustice to deny senior staff in the National Assembly an opportunity to rise to the level of Clerk.

“It’s unfair to tell an officer who has worked in the House for more than two decades that he or she stands no chance of becoming the Clerk because someone will come from the Senate to take over the position,” he said.

“In other jurisdictions, such as the US and UK, staff at a certain level cannot move from one House to the other; for instance, one cannot move from Congress to the Senate,” he added.

The Clerk of the Assembly is expected to carry out different duties and responsibilities including assisting the Speaker and Members of the Assembly to organise the order of business including providing advice on Assembly Procedures.

Assist the Speaker to run the Assembly proceedings including having thorough knowledge of the rules of the Assembly and tabling all documents presented to the Assembly.

Drafting private members bills and amendments and certifying the passage of bills through the Assembly.

Pursuant to section 12 (1) of the County Governments Act 2012, The Clerk of the County Assembly is the secretary of the County Assembly Service Board.

The term of the current Clerk, Michael Sialai, expires in July during his tenure is credited with streamlining audit and accounting functions, a move that saw the House get unqualified audit reports for three consecutive financial years between 2018 and 2021.

The Clerk of the Assembly is the administrative and the chief accounting officer of the Assembly and oversees the day-to-day operations and affairs of the Assembly.

Section 13 of the County Governments Act provides that there shall be a Clerk to the County Assembly appointed by CASB with the approval of the County Assembly.

The office of the Clerk and members of staff are offices in the County Assembly Service.