Embu Governor Martin Nyaga Wambora has ignited a loud public disquiet by reshuffling his cabinet
barely two months to the August 9 General Election.
Wambora appointed Agriculture Chief Officer Ruth Ndirangu as Chief Officer Finance and Economic Planning in a move that shocked many.
Ndirangu was impeached by Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) as Chief Officer Finance and Economic Planning in June 2019 on account of corruption, gross misconduct, incompetence and contravention of the law.
Embu governor criticized for the reshuffle
The controversial reshuffle has left many wondering why the Council of Governors Chairman
decided to reappoint an officer tainted with graft to handle public funds just after the Ward Reps
adjourned the County Assembly indefinitely and when his term in office was coming to an end.
In 2019, Evurore MCA Duncan Mbui, who was chairing the Ad Hoc Committee investigating the
conduct of the Finance Chief Officer, fired the first salvo when he tabled a report recommending her
removal from office within 24 hours after the 45-day investigation confirmed the allegations levelled
against her and further investigations that would lead to her prosecution for economic crimes commenced.
The report questioned Ruth Ndirangu’s academic qualifications, with witness evidence on oath
indicating that the authenticity of her academic papers could not be ascertained.
Ndirangu is said to have acquired a Master’s Degree before an Undergraduate Degree and studied for less than one year to qualify for a Bachelor’s Degree.
The embattled Chief Officer is also alleged to have been paying herself for supplying oxygen to the Embu Level Five Hospital instead of releasing funds for the repair of a dysfunctional Oxygen Generating Plant.
She is said to have earned Ksh12 million annually for supplying the gas to all Embu public hospitals, despite being no budgetary allocation or advertised tenders for such procurements.
Evurore MCA, in his contribution, said the Chief Officer had contributed to the soaring Ksh1.3 Billion pending bills by deliberately refusing to pay politically unfriendly contractors, billing the County Treasury for infrastructural works not done and favouring her cronies and awarding them inflated contracts then
paying for shoddy work.
She was also accused of illegally diverting Ksh90 Million set aside for specific projects to her
preferred developments without the authority of the Assembly.
MCAs also said she failed to honour summonses when ordered to present herself before the county legislature to answer queries on her conduct.
