By Martin Masai
Editor, The Anchor

When Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti suspended Roads Minister Rita Ndunda last year, the public read the move as a bold stand against corruption and disorder in the transport sector. Ndunda had clashed publicly with officials of a Sacco. A recording soon surfaced — murky, damning, inconclusive — but enough to warrant a temporary exit from office.

That exit, it turns out, was anything but permanent.

On July 2, Ndunda returned — not to her Roads docket, but with a soft landing at the Water, Sanitation, Irrigation and Environment ministry. Her comeback was packaged inside a circular from the County Secretary that also recalled others from Wavinya’s political freezer: ex-Chief Officers Abdilahi Guliye, Simon Kirima, and lawyer Anthony Mutunga.

The optics are familiar. In Machakos—and indeed across many counties—a suspension is no longer a disciplinary act. It’s a paid holiday. Chief Officers fall out with the governor, are stripped of duty, but continue to draw salaries without responsibility, sometimes for years. They may not be incompetent or lazy. Some, in fact are injured while blocking  corruption.

Later, they are quietly recycled into new roles, often without any clarity on whether investigations were concluded or cleared them.

This culture erodes public trust. It offends the spirit of Chapter Six of the Constitution. And it makes a mockery of the painful efforts Kenya has made to institutionalise ethics in public service.

Take the case of Rita Ndunda. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) reportedly investigated the leaked recording. Sources now suggest the probe found no actionable wrongdoing. But the public has never seen a report and may never see it. No statement was issued to explain her return. No apology. No explanation. Just a reshuffle circular. Business as usual. And no one is ashamed.

Meanwhile, the county spends millions paying idle or sidelined officers—salaries for jobs no one is doing.

Currently, over seven Senior Revenue Officers are home without official communication for over 1 year, yet are on full pay.

This isn’t just poor governance. It’s theft dressed in legal clothing. Governor Wavinya Ndeti Oduwole is the chief architect.

Worse still, these silent reshuffles often reward political loyalty, not merit. Those recalled are not the most competent or the most needed — they are simply the most loyal or the most connected. This weaponisation of appointments turns public service into a chessboard, where technocrats become pawns in the service of patronage, not the people.

The Constitution envisages county governments as engines of grassroots development. But that vision will remain a mirage as long as impunity is institutionalised — where discipline is cosmetic, suspensions are rotational, and ethics are optional.

Governor Wavinya has the mandate. She has the platform. What she needs now is the political courage to make her executive truly accountable — not just loyal. Until then, Machakos residents must brace themselves for more reshuffles, more recycled officials, and more public money feeding a political machine that never truly changes.

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