Water Bosses on ’30- Day Compulsory Leave’ That Will Never End

By Martin Masai

Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti has ordered all managing directors of county-owned water companies to proceed on compulsory leave.

This drastic move was formally communicated by County Secretary Dr. Muya Ndambuki to staff of all the six companies, underscoring growing anxiety within the county’s top leadership over public dissatisfaction with water services.

At stake is an audit of the companies that generate millions of shillings every month, yet their outputs remain wanting,with water being one of the most elusive commodity in the county.

At Machakos Water Company long serving MD Winnifred Mbai was replaced by Eng. Stephen Ndwiki. Long serving Mavoko Water Company MD Michael Mangeli was replaced by Rapael Mutie. Kathiani Water Company MD P Malelu gave way to George Ngila.

Yatta Water Company’s Acting MD is Abednego Munyao, replacing  Augustine Mboya. In Mwala Water Company, Moses Nzuki gives way to Samuel Mwasuna while Engineer Catherine Nduku takes charge in  Kangundo Water Company.

The replacements are Sub County Water Officers, meaning they are not strangers to county Water management.
In a notice signed by Dr. Ndambuki and addressed to stalled in the affected water service providers, staff are notified that their Managing Directors have been directed proceed on leave from date of the notice as a precursor to  “reorganisation and reforms” within the water sector.

While Ndambuki’s notice said the MDs would be on leave for not more than 30 days, a governance structure being implemented suggests they will be away for good, and the 30-day cap may not entirely be a honest statement.

The future of county water management envisages a single county- wide water company to be known as Machakos County Water and Sewerage Company complete with a board- to operate under the supervision of the Water CECM.

Therefore there will be no vacancies for six Managing Directors upon the expiry of the 30 days. This may well trigger prolonged litigation given that some of the MDs have active contracts that the county government is attempting to overturn outside the law.

Governor Wavinya is poised to appoint former Machakos Town MP aspirant Paul Museku as MD, while former Masinga MP Itwiku Mbai will chair the board.
While the notice does not provide the administrative basis for the decision, multiple sources within the county government say the move is driven by political urgency, with the governor increasingly worried that failure to fix the water crisis could turn a second term into a mirage.
“Water has become the loudest and most consistent complaint from residents,” said a senior county official familiar with internal deliberations. “If this sector is not fixed fast, it will define the governor’s first term — and possibly end it.”
Machakos’ water companies have long been associated with erratic supply, ageing infrastructure, ballooning debts, weak governance and persistent consumer complaints, even in areas close to water sources.

Repeated promises of reform have yielded little visible improvement on the ground. It is a sector where the governor has done little or nothing, a good three years after taking office.

Tenures for the boards of the Water companies have ended without succession,leaving the MDs to emerge as top guns, running the companies with little or no oversight.

The Anchor established that the mass compulsory leave order was not sanctioned by the respective boards and may well have been executed by Water and Sanitation minister Onesmus Kuyu.
According to insiders, the compulsory leave directive is intended to break resistance from entrenched management teams that have previously slowed or frustrated reform efforts.
County officials insist the decision is not disciplinary but strategic, arguing that meaningful reforms require space free from institutional pushback.

Interim management arrangements, they say, have been put in place to ensure continuity of operations as audits and performance reviews are conducted.
However, the sudden move has unsettled staff within the water companies and raised concerns among sector stakeholders about operational stability, existing contracts and the broader direction of the reforms.
Politically, the decision places Governor Wavinya in a high-risk, high-reward moment. If the shake-up results in visible improvement in water access and reliability, it could reset public perception of her administration. If it fails, it could deepen voter frustration in a county where service delivery remains a decisive electoral issue.
The county government is yet to release a detailed reform roadmap following Dr. Ndambuki’s letter.
The Anchor has established that the compulsory leave order is only the opening move in a broader plan whose full implications are still unfolding.

The Anchor unsuccessfully tried to seek comments and clarity over the move from Dr Ndambuki, who maintained a stoic silence.
In a subsequent story, The Anchor will delve deeper into the real issues behind the shake-up, the interests at play within the water sector, and whether the governor’s gamble can translate into political recovery — or further turbulence.

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