Kilifi Chief Finance Officer decries plan to lock him out over court cases.

Kilifi county ex chief finance officer Benjamin Kai PHOTO COURTESY

Kilifi,KENYA:The Kilifi county chief officer in charge of finance and economic planning Benjamin Kai crying foul over what he says is a plan by the County Public Service Board to kick him out of office technically.

This is after he was locked out of interviews with the board allegedly declining to interview him as scheduled despite being shortlisted.

According to Kai, he appeared before the interviewing panel on 6th February as per the schedule for the ongoing interviews but he was informed that his interview would not carry on following an ongoing case he filed at the high court in Malindi.

Speaking to the press on Thursday, Kai conveyed fears that there is a conspiracy to lock him out .

“I was employed in October 2013 and my contract is coming to an end on September this year,” Kai told Baraka FM.
“I was supposed to be interviewed for the position for another contract but when I went to the panel they asked me if the interview will interfere with the case I filed and I said no. The case was moved to the labor court. What I really don’t understand is why they shortlisted me yet they knew I had a pending case in court,” he added.
Kai said he does not understand why a case he filed himself against the Kilifi County Assembly is used against him.
He said he filed a case with the Malindi High Court in 2017 against the Assembly’s plan to have him to step aside to pave way for investigations.

The court later ruled that he should not step aside.

“They wanted figures for the five years just before devolution and I gave them figures for the last two years. They claimed I was not competent. Their aim was to compare what the local authorities were collecting in terms of revenue and what we are collected. Professionally the two years I gave them what I could give in terms of the comparison and that’s when they wanted me out and I moved to court,” said Kai.

However Kilifi county public service board chairman James Mulewa declined to give details on the matter and said he will do so when the interviews are concluded.

“Interviews are still ongoing on and once we are done I will tell you the results and who was interviewed and those that were not”James told Baraka FM.