Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei has ordered the suspension of six chief executive officers for alleged involvement in corruption and procurement irregularities within their respective institutions.
He has additionally directed the suspension of 67 police officers and an accountant at the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA).
The directives follow recommendations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for the suspension of the officers, who are currently under investigation.
In letters addressed to parastatal heads and respective Cabinet Secretaries in ministries involved, the EACC states that the continued stay in office of the mentioned officers during the investigation will interfere with and undermine its work.
"In issuing the directives, the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service emphasises that the Government remains firm in its commitment to eradicating corruption which, he maintains, undermines its development agenda," State House Spokesman Hussein Mohamed said in a statement Thursday evening.
Those ordered for suspension include Eng Fredrick Mwamati, CEO, Tanathi Water Works Development Agency pending investigations touching on procurement in the agency.
Others whom EACC want suspended are Stephen Ogenga, Director General of the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), Stanvas Ong’alo, Acting Director General of National Museums of Kenya and Benjamin Kai Chilumo, the CEO of Huduma Centre Secretariat.
The issue on Chilumo relates to when he served in the County Government of Kilifi as the Chief Finance Officer.
Also on the list are Peter Gitaa Koria, the CEO/GM of Bomas of Kenya, Eng Anthony Wamukota, the General Manager of Design & Construction at Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO) and Esther Wanjiru Chege, an accountant at KeRRA.
"Furthermore, the EACC has asked the Inspector General of Police, Japhet Koome, to suspend 67 police officers implicated in corruption-related malpractices," the statement said.