How Kenya Railways’s MD Phillip Mainga, Appointed Benedict Kiema Kavua To a Plum Position After Taking Bribe In a Sham Recruitment Exercise

‘Scandalous’ Kenya Railway Managing Director Phillip Mainga has struck again and appointed inexperience corrupt linked Benedict Kiema Kavua to a plum position after he allegdly took some bribe in exchange of of the said job.

This is Contrary to expectations of many internal staff who either shunned to apply for lack of trust in the process- the few that applied were not considered as they lacked the qualifications( Failed to meet Maingas demands and lacked money to bribe).

Kenyan insight is aware that The board proceeded to conduct interviews between 19th and 21st August 2024 for General Manager Corporate services, General Manager Business & Commercial, General Manager Finance, General Manager Procurement, General Manager Legal Services.

Sources intimate that the board appointed Benedict Kiema Kavua, the current procurement manager at Nairobi Water and Sewage Company for the position of General manager procurement.

It is interesting to note that Kiema currently has an active court case with his employer and is bedeviled by corruption investigations.

In the auditor general’s report released last year, Nairobi Water lost over Sh10 billion in the financial year ended June 2022 due to faulty water meters, unreconciled financial statements and allowances paid to its staff.

The auditor general observed that this led to a loss of Sh834 million as projected revenue.

The report also indicates that the water firm lost up to 50 percent of its projected water sales, which is way above the 25 percent of the non-revenue water threshold that is allowed by the Water Services Regulatory Board.

Kiema is buying time to cover up suspected corrupt dealings that he allegedly got into while in office.

City Hall insiders also claim that the besieged manager has been on the radar of investigative agencies including Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

It is also alleged that at the point of shortlisting, Kiema did not have the required licence to practice as required.

Despite this information being in public knowledge, the board turned a blind eye choosing to appoint Kiema.

This happened as two internal managers who have previously served in this position were considered unsuitable despite being experienced, competent and in good standing.

Railway is a specialized sector and it was expected that the board would leverage on the experience of internal staff.

This was a well-orchestrated plan by MD Philip Mainga to eliminate those with organizational memory as he prepares for his exit which is eminent with the looming parastatal shakeups.

The Board also interviewed for the position of General Manager Legal choosing to appoint xxxxxx from the little-known leather sector.

It is not clear how two officers who are extremely experienced in the Corporations legal department never featured in the shortlist.

Is this a plan to wipe away all memory as Mainga exits?

For the position of General Manager Business and Commercial the board recommended the appointment of Stanley Cheruiyot who is currently serving as the principal business development officer.

It is yet another wonder how board ended up shortlisting and ultimately appointing him despite not having any senior managerial experience.

On the onslaught were two senior managers who have served in the capacity of general manager business and possess expansive experience and performance record to deliver in this docket.

Stanley was the only internal staff who was considered for appointment.

This is yet another attempt to completely wipe out any threats in the system as Mainga prepares to exit the stage, succession politics seem to be taking the center stage at the expense of the principal of meritocracy.

“This process was to eliminate all Luhyas who the MD has declared war against, for being forthright and firm in their decisions thereby being considered as a threat to the otherwise corrupt rule of MD Mainga” said an internal source.

This happened on the backdrop of staff unrest over the recent transition to a new structure where a few staff were promoted without a clear meritocracy criterion a process approved by the board.

A recent group of over five hundred staff pushing for a fair process against a simmering civil disobedience were silenced through intimidations by the police.

A memo dated 22nd August 2024 was seen to be a knee jack reaction by the MD and the acting corporate services general manager to quell unrest over unfair and procedural promotions within the Corporation.
The staff have however vowed to keep agitating for fairness, equity and equality.

A source revealed an anonymous person collecting complaints with a threat to raise them at the highest levels.

The board has also been said not to have appointed any candidate for the position of General Manager Finance, even after interviewing over 5 candidates.

This is after failing to shortlist Dr. Nebert Mandala for the position considering that he was previously shortlisted for the position of Commissioner General for Kenya Revenue authority in a recent recruitment process.

How then would he fail to be shortlisted for a general manager position?

Sources indicate that this was well intended to retain status quo to allow the MD Mainga to “finish his assignments in the institution”.

The board also appointment of Tialal Leparan Christophe as the General Manager Corporate services.

Our sources reveal that Tialal who has previously worked with NTSA and currently works with the salaries and remuneration commission was the only appointed candidate who was qualified for the job among those recommended to take up various positions at the state corporation.

These interviews were conducted in the midst of a transition process with the exit of Kipchumba Murkomen and entry of Davis Chirchir.

It is believed that Chirchir whose prowess has been shown in the Ministry of Energy was brought on board to clean up the mess in the Roads and Transport ministry and particularly Kenya Railways which is marred by scandals and huge operational losses translating to over 30 billion.

It was expected that the recruitment process if done in a transparent, fair and objective manner would see the General Manager positions filled to help improve the Performance of the Corporation.

With Key projects the Corporation is expected to undertake, including the Nairobi Railway city under the UKEF, SGR phase 2B and C and not forgetting the world bank KUMIP project.

It is believed that hiring of competent, qualified and experienced staff will help the state Corporation deliver on this projects while turning around the financial position.

The board should put professionalism ahead of selfish interests and do what is right- this is the spirit of the clarion call from Genz.

Meritocracy must surpass any other personal interests.