Kenya Roads Board DG Sued Over Illegal Appointment of Aisha Jumwa

The Kenya Roads Board Director General, Rashid Khamisi Mohammed, has been sued for the violation of the law, the constitution, and the ethical standards, months after the appointment of former Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa as the Kenya Roads Board Chairperson.

In a petition filed by the Bunge la Mwananchi President Francis Awino, the KRB director general has been accused of enabling and facilitating the unlawful appointment of Jumwa, contravening Section 7 of the Kenya Roads Board Act 1999 and articles 73 (2) and 232 (1) (g) of the constitution.

Awino accused the respondent of manipulating the internal systems to represent a false narrative of the nomination.

“Despite being the Chief Executive Officer of KRB and the statutory accounting officer, the respondent willingly abdicated his legal duties to safeguard institutional integrity and compliance with the constitution, Kenya Roads Board and the relevant statutes,” the petitioner said.

In the petition, he accused the DG of being fully aware that the appointment of Jumwa was flawed by the law and failed to meet the KRB Act on the requirements for appointing the Chairperson.

“Rather than raising an alarm or advice against the irregular appointment, the respondent actively facilitated the impugned appointment by endorsing it, internally suppressing objections, ensuring no proper vetting or consultations,” he stated.

This is even as he put Rashid in the spot over irregularities in the procurements at the Kenya Roads and misuse of funds allocated under various allocations like the Maintenance Initiative Account.

“The respondent has repeatedly breached procurement laws by awarding contracts to cronies and cancelling contracts upon failure to secure bribes and paying for goods and services not delivered,” he said in the petition.

The petition comes a few months after the appointment of Aisha Jumwa as the chairperson of the Kenya Roads Board by the Transport Cabinet Secretary, Davis Chirchir, early in the year.

Jumwa is expected to serve for three years.

Her appointment was, however, rejected by the Institution of Engineers Kenya (IEK), which said she does not qualify for the position, adding that it requires an engineer by profession.

IEK raised concerns that her appointment did not align with the KRB Act, particularly the membership and the selection process.

The engineer’s body explained that the Kenya Roads Board is heavily involved in engineering work such as overseeing the condition of roads, advising on standards of road construction, and ensuring projects are carried out effectively from a technical standpoint.