Baringo County Secretary blocks Assembly probe into misconduct claims

Baringo County Secretary Jacob Chepkwony has filed a petition at the Kabarnet High Court to stop the County Assembly from investigating alleged abuse of office claims in the recruitment of staff.

Chepkwony, through lawyer Kipkoech Ng’etich, sued Baringo County Assembly, the Clerk, Speaker, and Governor Benjamin Cheboi to restrain them from implementing the Ad-Hoc report recommending investigations and his removal.

The County Secretary claimed that the County Assembly had passed a motion on May 7, 2025, and formed an Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding casual workers and employment malpractices in the county.

The committee's recommendations, he claimed, targeted and found him responsible for irregular, illegal, and unprocedural acts which amounted to gross misconduct and abuse of office without affording him a right of hearing, tainting his reputation.

He claimed that the report recommended legal action against him following an alleged illegal, irregular, and unprocedural secondment of a female officer, and for the irregular dismissal of staff.

Chepkwony said that the report had recommended legal action against him for discriminately extending contracts and converting the employment terms of employers who worked under his office when he was the deputy governor.

Chepkwony worked as the Deputy Governor during Governor Stanley Kiptis' tenure, which their union ended unceremoniously, and was appointed as CS during Governor Cheboi's second term.  

He challenged the procedure by which the report was made and presented for adoption, claiming to have violated standing orders.

The report, he alleged, was presented on June 11, 2025, a day later, unlike the speaker Vincent Kemboi's directive, which was to be supplied to the County Assembly by 6 pm for members to interrogate.  

“The adopted report was never supplied to members until June 11, 2025, when the same was presented and adopted without interrogation,” read he petition.

He accused the County Assembly of forwarding the recommendation to effect immediately, to the governor, a report allegedly based on unsubstantiated allegations.  

He sought orders restraining the governor, Cheboi, from acting on the letter dated June 11, 2025, and conservatory orders staying the implementation of the recommendations.

The county secretary claimed that following the Ad-hoc committee summons, he claimed the process didn’t accord him any opportunity to be heard and defend himself, and that he was condemned unheard.

Chepkwony alleged that the Ad-hoc committee cannot be an investigating agency, the judge, and the executor of the same report as seen in the recommendation.

 “That Hon. Jeruto was never a member of the committee and the report is therefore null and void for being a product of a stranger,” read the petition.

Justice Rachel Ngetich directed that the respondents be served with further directions on Thursday next week.