NAIROBI, Kenya – The Senate has ordered the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to immediately terminate the contracts of 22 recently recruited employees amid serious allegations of irregular and unethical hiring practices by outgoing commissioners. The directive was issued on Monday, 17th November 2025, by the Senate Standing Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Regional Integration following a tense hearing where the commission's own chief executive detailed how he was pressured to approve the appointments.

The controversy centres on the recruitment of 22 individuals who reported to the NCIC’s Nairobi and regional offices on September 1, 2025. During the Senate hearing, it emerged that the positions were never advertised publicly, a clear violation of Kenyan law governing public service employment. This process effectively denied qualified Kenyans a fair opportunity to compete for the roles.

In a damning revelation, NCIC Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Daniel Mutegi Giti, testified before the committee that he was coerced by the outgoing commissioners to proceed with the recruitment just over a month before their tenure was set to end. Dr. Giti, who was sworn into office on April 1, 2025, informed the senators that he and the human resources department had advised the commissioners against the move, citing its illegality. “They put me under pressure to employ since I was new in the Commission. It was a resolution of the commissioners and not the entire organisation,” Dr. Giti stated. He further disclosed that the commissioners threatened to review his performance and employment status if he obstructed their resolution.

Contradictions and Demands for Accountability

The hearing, chaired by Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute, uncovered significant inconsistencies in the commission's account of the hiring process. The committee noted that the NCIC initially planned to hire 20 people but ended up recruiting 22. When questioned, the CEO and the HR department provided contradictory explanations for this increase, raising further integrity concerns. Senator Catherine Mumma, a member of the committee, described the recruitment as “unlawful and contrary to the law,” insisting that any deviation from the original plan required documented resolutions, which were not provided.

Senator Chute castigated the NCIC, an institution mandated to audit other government bodies on legal compliance and ethnic diversity, for engaging in such a flawed process. “Will I be wrong if I say you denied other Kenyans the opportunity to be employed in order to employ your relatives and friends?” the chairman posed directly to the CEO.

The committee has summoned the outgoing commissioners to appear before them on Tuesday, 18th November 2025, to provide answers. The commission is currently headed by Chairman Dr. Samuel Kobia, with Dorcas Kedogo as Vice-Chairperson. Other commissioners include Philip Okundi, Abdulaziz Ali Farah, Dr. Danvas Makori, Sam Kona, and Wambui Nyutu. The Interior Cabinet Secretary, Kipchumba Murkomen, had already declared eight positions at the commission vacant in a notice dated November 4, 2025.

A Crisis of Credibility

The scandal strikes at the heart of the NCIC's credibility. The commission is tasked with promoting national unity and ensuring fairness in public employment. This mandate is enshrined in Article 232 of the Constitution and the National Cohesion and Integration Act, which stipulates that no single ethnic community should hold more than one-third of jobs in any public institution. The allegations of cronyism are particularly damaging as the NCIC has recently published several audits exposing severe ethnic imbalances in hiring across public universities and parastatals.

The Senate committee has warned Dr. Giti that he will be held personally liable if found culpable of wrongdoing, urging him to resist external pressure. Echoing the sentiment for stronger action, Nominated Senator Consolata Nabwire called for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to launch a formal investigation into the recruitment. “We should as a committee declare this recruitment null and void and let the EACC swing into action,” she urged. The EACC is already conducting probes into recruitment irregularities at other state agencies, including the National Police Service.