TSC CEO’s Replacement Revealed in the Hidden Plan
Despite leading the Commission from Nairobi, TSC CEO and Secretary Dr. Nancy Macharia is at odds with her deputy Dr. Kennedy Juma Mulunda.
In the past, Mulunda has charged the TSC leader with witch-hunting and calling for his dismissal from the Commission. This came after he received a letter of dismissal that would put an end to his career at the Teachers Service Commission,TSC.
He was charged with serious misconduct and power abuse. Then he was immediately changed. Dr. Mulunda, however, challenged his dismissal in court.
In a decision dated November 30, 2022, Lady Justice Mbaru declared that TSC had wrongfully fired Dr. Mulunda on claims of bribery and intimidation.
Mulunda must resume his tasks right away without losing his pay, benefits, or other employment rights, the judge ruled.
As the deputy commission secretary, he held the second-highest position in TSC. The court can only order that he be promptly reinstated to his post because the premature process that led to his severance of employment caused him to suffer a greater loss, declared Justice Mbaru.
The verdict was a significant victory for Mulunda, who had fought the teachers’ union ever since he was fired on June 20, 2022.
In his appeal, Dr. Mulunda said that his problems began in October 2021, when he was on business in Geneva, Switzerland, when he learned from his boss that certain school administrators in Western and Nyanza had complained about his alleged harassment and intimidation.
Dr. Muliunda received a show-cause notice in January 2022 due to claims of abuse of office, swaying teacher transfers, meddling in the schools’ procurement procedures, and bribery.
TSC defended the disciplinary procedure that resulted in Mulunda’s dismissal, claiming that it gave him a fair opportunity to defend himself but he declined.
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The commission, on the other hand, was found to have acted hastily in its decision to fire him, according to Justice Mbaru, and there was no rationale for the TSC to depend on the findings of the investigation committee rather than give Mulunda a chance to present his own case.
As if this weren’t enough, the teachers’ employer appealed the decision to reinstate Dr. Kennedy Juma Mulunda as deputy chief executive to the Court of Appeal.
TSC is requesting that the Court of Appeal reverse the decision.
However, last week an activist filed a lawsuit in order to force the TSC to choose a new CEO since they believe Nancy Macharia’s term expired in February because she had reached the mandatory retirement age of 60.
TSC CEO’s Replacement Revealed in the Hidden Plan
Francis Owino, an activist, has petitioned High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi for a ruling that Dr. Macharia’s continued leadership of the organisation violates the law because she purportedly has reached retirement age.
He believed that Macharia’s mandate should have expired in February of this year.
He asserts, however, that Macharia’s contract as the head of the TSC was extended in July 2020 for a further period of five years in the same court filing.
After outperforming Gabriel Lengoibon and retiring in June 2015, Macharia took over the commission.
Her hiring came after a rigorous hiring procedure that began on May 1, 2015, when the position was advertised and drew 69 candidates, of which four were shortlisted.
After Mr. Jesse Muhoro (1967–1974), Mr. James Kamunge (1974–1977), Mr. Duncan Mwangi (1978–80), Mr. Joseph Lijembe (1980–82), Mr. Jackson Kang’ali (1982–1998), Benjamin Sogomo (1998–2003), Mr. James Ongwae (2003–2004), and her predecessor Mr. Gabriel K Lengoiboni, Ms. Macharia is the ninth Commission Secretary/CEO.
Since the commission’s founding, she was its first female CEO.
“The respondent’s tenure was renewed in July 2020 for an additional five-year term, which should have been her final term in office. According to the petitioner, the respondent’s term ended in February 2023, asserts Owino.
The commission continued the same in 2020 after the initial term. In this instance, Owino has also included the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the employer of the teachers. According to the activist, Macharia’s term was improperly prolonged.
“The petitioners aver that there was an illegal, unlawful, and irregular extension and subsequent re-appointment of the respondent as the CEO and Secretary of the TSC,” he asserts.
Owino asserts that members of the education committee are silent regarding her term despite the fact that he hasn’t filed a lawsuit against Parliament. He claims that Macharia was born in 1963 and is now eligible for retirement.
“The respondent was born on May 11, 1963, and as a result, she is ready for retirement because she has reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 years. According to him, the respondent is currently around 61 years old.
Owino alleges that on February 16 of this year, Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa of the Ministry of Public Service, Gender, and Affirmative Affairs refused all requests for term extensions for all public civil workers who had reached the age of 60.
He also wants a court order preventing Macharia from continuing to run the commission.
