The National Construction Authority (NCA) has dismissed six of its officials over allegations of gross misconduct and bribery.
The six include four compliance officers based in the Nairobi regional office — Josephine Wawira Wanjira, Brian Moindi Otuke, Allan Munyua Thairu, and Doughlous Esrom.
Others are Felix Kibet, the compliance officer for North Rift and Ibrahim Hassan Dagane, a driver in the North Eastern office.
Dismissal letters seen by the Nation dated January 26 and signed by NCA Executive Director Maurice Aketch indicate that some of the staff are accused of soliciting bribes last year from a contractor in Nairobi City County.
Ms Wawira, Mr Moindi, Mr Munyua, and Mr Esrom are accused of demanding a bribe from Mr Maingi Kubai to lift the suspension of his project.
The dismissal followed several disciplinary hearings, during which the accused failed to convince the agency of their innocence.
The site in question is located in Ngando off Ngong Road, Dagoretti South Constituency. On October 3, 2023 between 4pm and 5pm, the officers allegedly met the contractor at an eatery in TRM Mall on Thika Road and demanded a bribe.
“This meeting was never reported to the acting regional coordinator,” the dismissal letters read in part.
The amount demanded by the officers was,however, not revealed.
Other accusations against the officials include using the agency’s resources, in terms of time, driver, and fuel, without obtaining authorisation from their respective supervisors and misleading the disciplinary committee about the intentions of a site visit on Mirema Drive off Thika Road.
The disciplinary hearings were held on December 8, 2023, and January 10, 2024.
In the dismissal letters, NCA said the officers contravened the Employment Act 2007, Bribery Act of 2016, Public Officers Ethics Act of 2005, and went against the Authority’s Human Resource Policies and Procedures Manual.
The sacking comes amidst a rise in the number of substandard buildings collapsing, with some incidents of death being reported.
According to NCA data, Nairobi and Kiambu counties are leading in the number of substandard buildings whose construction has been approved through bribery and graft.
