Kalenjins, Kikuyus, Luhyas, Luos dominate employment across all 47 counties - Report

Over 80 percent of employment in all the 47 counties are dominated by only 10 tribes led by Kalenjin, Kikuyu, Luhya and Luos, with 29 tribes making up for only 1% of job recruitment in county governments.

According to a damning audit report on the diversity of the county public service released by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), only 13 out of 47 counties have complied with the national recruitment policy, with the number of counties embracing ethnic diversification in job enrollment falling to 13 this year compared to 21 in 2016.

The 200-page report reveals that the total workforce in counties is 184,876, with female employees dominating by 53%.

Employees with disabilities number 2,089, representing 1.14% of the total workforce in counties.

Nairobi County, which has a wage bill of about Ksh.1.2 billion, has the highest number of staff at 13,513, representing 7.37% of all county employees.

Kalenjins, Kikuyus, Luhyas and Luos lead the 10 tribes that dominate employment opportunities in all the 47 counties with an 80% recruitment margin. 29 tribes make up for only 1% of job recruitment in the devolved units.

Kalenjins lead by 15.83%, followed by Kikuyus at 15.77%. Luhya and Luo ethnicities are placed third and fourth respectively with an employment rate of 11.6% and 9.81% respectively.

Marsabit County tops the list of compliant counties with Borana, which is the dominant tribe, representing 33.41% of job enrolments in the devolved unit.

Lamu and Tana River Counties are second and third on the log with dominant tribes representing 33.92 and 37.72 percent respectively.  

Bomet County is the worst compliant county with Kalenjin, which is the dominant tribe. representing 97% of staff employment. Out of its total 3,357 employees, 3,268 are Kalenjins while Kisiis come in a distant second with a mere 26 employees.

Nairobi County which has been ranked as the most diverse county since 2016, leads in counties with highest diversity in the workplace with 38 ethnic communities.

West Pokot County is placed as the worst regressed county with a negative 42.35% decline in diversity.

Only 13 out of 47 counties are compliant with the laid down employment and recruitment procedures with the number of counties embracing ethnic diversification in job enrolment falling to 13 this year compared to 21 in 2016.

Political interference, budgetary constraints, favoritism, laxity by oversight organs, staff inheritance, lack of clear framework for county employment and unprofessionalism, are among challenges contributing to employment non-compliance in the devolved units.

"Will NCIC continue to be perceived a toothless dog? Will NCIC continue to watch counties execute ethnic discriminatory appointments? We invite members of the public to call upon us, we will go to court and invite EACC to block illegal appointments," NCIC Vice Chair Wambui Nyutu said during the launch of the report.

She added that the next NCIC audit will focus on national government and national institutions, an exercise aimed towards addressing inequalities in human resource distribution across the country.