A top official of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been sacked over claims of soliciting for tenders from principals, corruption and abuse of office.

Deputy chief executive Kennedy Juma Mulunda was found culpable of using his position to intimidate more than 10 principals from various schools in Western and Nyanza into awarding some companies contracts.

A team of commissioners who probed the matter found Dr Mulanda guilty of threatening to deal with teachers who defied his overtures in the event that he becomes the chief executive officer after Dr Nancy Macharia.

His termination was communicated to him in a letter dated June 20, signed by Dr Macharia, who is in-charge of the secretariat staff.

Dr Macharia said she was acting under instructions from the commissioners after investigations from principals found overwhelming evidence against him.

Dr Mulunda was issued with a termination letter after being taken through a disciplinary committee in January. He is also accused of using his position as the deputy CEO to intimidate the commission’s officials in the regions.

“Pursuant to the provisions of clause 10 of your employment contract, the commission has made a decision to terminate your employment contract with effect from June 20, 2022,” reads the letter by Dr Macharia.

According to sources, TSC chairman, Dr Jamleck Muturi, appointed a special committee to investigate the allegations of abuse of office against Dr Mulunda and compiled a report in February.

Dr Macharia did not sit in the investigating committee as disciplinary mandates are purely done by the commissioners under the directives of the chairman.

Among the allegations, Dr Mulunda is accused that on diverse dates in 2020 and 2021, he abused his office by influencing, coercing and intimidating staffing officers to effect transfer of several principals in Western and Nyanza outside the approved transfer matrix in disregard of the commission’s transfer policy.

He is also accused of coercing principals from various public schools to award tenders to companies associated with him against the Public Procurement and Assets Disposal Act.

Among the tenders he demanded were fumigation services in various schools.

The Nation learnt that 10 teachers from the region were invited by TSC and they testified against him.

In a report prepared by the commissioners, a principal testified that Dr Mulunda influenced the school to award the tender of laboratory chemicals and equipment to a company that was not among the prequalified suppliers.

In some of the schools, the principals told the commissioners that Dr Mulunda engaged chairpersons of boards to award the tenders to the companies without following procurement regulations. In other schools, he coerced the principals to award the tenders to his relatives.

For principals who refused to heed to his instructions, the heads testified, that he would threaten them with transfers or initiated their transfers as a way of punishing them.

One principal testified before the TSC investigating committee that Dr Mulunda would visit schools and introduce suppliers of various goods such as stationery and printing papers and demand that the schools award the tenders to them.

Another principal told the commissioners that Dr Mulunda introduced him to a security firm based in Nairobi and demanded that he awards the company security services tender, which he declined.

Between September 2020 and September 2021, Dr Mulunda is also accused of having visited more than five schools in the regions with directors of various companies associated with him and some family members and demanded that the schools award him tenders.

According to TSC, transfer of teachers must follow the code of regulation. The transfers must consider the need for adequate distribution and optimal utilisation of teachers, availability of vacancies and need for replacement, existing staffing norms, medical grounds and other compelling grounds as the commission may consider necessary.

In one of the transfers, Dr Mulunda is accused of instructing a commission’s official to transfer a principal citing poor performance and stakeholder hostility.

The committee established that the said school’s academic performance was on upward trend since 2018.

In the TSC’s termination letter, Dr Macharia said Dr Mulunda was invited to show cause why his contract of employment could not be terminated on the grounds that he breached the Public Officers and Ethics Act.

Dr Mulunda denied the allegations before the committee.

“The commission has carefully reviewed your case, the evidence presented before it as well as your written response and determined that you were guilty of the allegations raised against you which is in violation of the terms and condition of your contract,”  said Dr Macharia.

A top official of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been sacked over claims of soliciting for tenders from principals, corruption and abuse of office.

Deputy chief executive Kennedy Juma Mulunda was found culpable of using his position to intimidate more than 10 principals from various schools in Western and Nyanza into awarding some companies contracts.

A team of commissioners who probed the matter found Dr Mulanda guilty of threatening to deal with teachers who defied his overtures in the event that he becomes the chief executive officer after Dr Nancy Macharia.

His termination was communicated to him in a letter dated June 20, signed by Dr Macharia, who is in-charge of the secretariat staff.

Dr Macharia said she was acting under instructions from the commissioners after investigations from principals found overwhelming evidence against him.

Dr Mulunda was issued with a termination letter after being taken through a disciplinary committee in January. He is also accused of using his position as the deputy CEO to intimidate the commission’s officials in the regions.

“Pursuant to the provisions of clause 10 of your employment contract, the commission has made a decision to terminate your employment contract with effect from June 20, 2022,” reads the letter by Dr Macharia.

According to sources, TSC chairman, Dr Jamleck Muturi, appointed a special committee to investigate the allegations of abuse of office against Dr Mulunda and compiled a report in February.

Dr Macharia did not sit in the investigating committee as disciplinary mandates are purely done by the commissioners under the directives of the chairman.

Among the allegations, Dr Mulunda is accused that on diverse dates in 2020 and 2021, he abused his office by influencing, coercing and intimidating staffing officers to effect transfer of several principals in Western and Nyanza outside the approved transfer matrix in disregard of the commission’s transfer policy.

He is also accused of coercing principals from various public schools to award tenders to companies associated with him against the Public Procurement and Assets Disposal Act.

Among the tenders he demanded were fumigation services in various schools.

The Nation learnt that 10 teachers from the region were invited by TSC and they testified against him.

In a report prepared by the commissioners, a principal testified that Dr Mulunda influenced the school to award the tender of laboratory chemicals and equipment to a company that was not among the prequalified suppliers.

In some of the schools, the principals told the commissioners that Dr Mulunda engaged chairpersons of boards to award the tenders to the companies without following procurement regulations. In other schools, he coerced the principals to award the tenders to his relatives.

For principals who refused to heed to his instructions, the heads testified, that he would threaten them with transfers or initiated their transfers as a way of punishing them.

One principal testified before the TSC investigating committee that Dr Mulunda would visit schools and introduce suppliers of various goods such as stationery and printing papers and demand that the schools award the tenders to them.

Another principal told the commissioners that Dr Mulunda introduced him to a security firm based in Nairobi and demanded that he awards the company security services tender, which he declined.

Between September 2020 and September 2021, Dr Mulunda is also accused of having visited more than five schools in the regions with directors of various companies associated with him and some family members and demanded that the schools award him tenders.

According to TSC, transfer of teachers must follow the code of regulation. The transfers must consider the need for adequate distribution and optimal utilisation of teachers, availability of vacancies and need for replacement, existing staffing norms, medical grounds and other compelling grounds as the commission may consider necessary.

In one of the transfers, Dr Mulunda is accused of instructing a commission’s official to transfer a principal citing poor performance and stakeholder hostility.

The committee established that the said school’s academic performance was on upward trend since 2018.

In the TSC’s termination letter, Dr Macharia said Dr Mulunda was invited to show cause why his contract of employment could not be terminated on the grounds that he breached the Public Officers and Ethics Act.

Dr Mulunda denied the allegations before the committee.

“The commission has carefully reviewed your case, the evidence presented before it as well as your written response and determined that you were guilty of the allegations raised against you which is in violation of the terms and condition of your contract,”  said Dr Macharia.