Mr Charles Njoroge, former Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) Director General. Photo/File
The appointment of public service executives on Thursday came under fresh scrutiny after the High Court nullified a Gazette Notice that legalised the controversial re-appointment of the CCK Director General.
Justice Weldon Korir declared the reappointment of Charles Njoroge to the position as illegal citing the appointing authority’s failure to consult the board and to ignore the directors’ advice that the contract should not be renewed.
The decision paves the way for the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) board to start the search for a new chief executive for the telecoms regulator.
The position has been vacant since August last year when the High Court stopped Mr Njoroge from assuming office.
“The court ruled that the acting director general continues in the same capacity and ordered the CCK board to start the recruitment process afresh,” said Henry Karuaka, an advocate for the Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek).
The federation had in August challenged the appointment of the CCK boss and asked the Constitutional Court to revoke the Gazette notice.
The CCK board appointed Mr Francis Wangusi to head the telecoms regulator in an acting capacity pending determination of the case.
The board had recommended that Mr Njoroge’s services be terminated at the end of his contract saying his performance was below the required minimum.
The directors returned the verdict upon review of Mr Njoroge’s performance in the first term after he applied for renewal of his term on December 29, 2010 ahead of the contract expiry in June 2011.
Information minister Samuel Poghisio, who is the appointing authority, disregarded the board’s recommendations and renewed Mr Njoroge’s contract sparking a row that civil society activists seized and sought to nullify in court.
Philip Okundi - who chairs the CCK board - had on March 10, 2011 written to Mr Poghisio, advising against renewal of Mr Njoroge’s contract.
He recommended that the director-general be asked to proceed on terminal leave to pave the way for the board to appoint an acting director-general and begin the search for his successor.
“Mr Njoroge has failed to satisfy the board as to his suitability, competence and integrity to continue serving as director-general of CCK,” said the board’s letter to Mr Poghisio.
The recommendations were based on the outcome of an appraisal in which Mr Njoroge scored 60 per cent — below the 70 per cent cut-off point set by the board for possible renewal of his contract.
Mr Okundi said the score was below the minimum expectation of a chief executive of a regulatory body and in an industry as dynamic as telecommunications.
“In view of the above performance the board recommends the termination of the contract,” read part of Mr Okundi’s letter Mr Poghisio.
Mr Okundi is the immediate former MP for Rangwe and is an ICT expert.
Mr Njoroge, 54, who has a master’s degree in Economics and a post-graduate certificate in Telecommunications Regulation, took over leadership of the CCK from Mr John Waweru on July 21, 2008.
He worked with the CCK from March 1999 and has 28 years’ experience in the sector, having previously worked for the defunct Kenya Post and Telecommunication Corporation.
During his three-year-tenure, CCK implemented several sector regulations it said were aimed at protecting consumers and tackling anti-competitive behaviour among the operators.
Among the hotly contested measures were the Tariff and Competition regulations in the telecommunications industry and the laws on broadcasting.
Network quality
Others included issuance of frequency spectrum that operators wanted reviewed and the release of the operators’ network quality performance to the public for the first time.
Njoroge’s position that price wars in the telecommunications industry were healthy and should be encouraged put him at crossroads with some operators, who said it could result in revenue losses and job cuts.
Mr Poghisio faces a similar situation at the Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) where the board has recommended the removal of Postmaster General Hussein Ali citing his poor performance in an appraisal.
Mr Ali who was appointed to the position from the police force and was until January facing crime against humanity charges at the Hague based International Criminal Court got the verdict in March and must be replaced next month.
“The board hires and is the one tasked with reviewing his performance since it deals with him on a day-to-day basis, and their recommendations are taken very strongly,” the minister told The Daily Nation last month during an interview on the sidelines of the Connected Kenya Summit 2012 in Mombasa.
Maj-Gen Ali scored 52 per cent against a minimum threshold of 70 per cent needed to retain him at the helm of the organisation.
Maj-Gen Ali, a former police chief, was appointed to the position in September 2009, taking over from Mr Fred Odhiambo.
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