Bomet County Women representative, Linet Chepkorir, famously known as ‘Linet Toto’ has been sued by two area residents on claims of nepotism.
Linet Toto allegedly employed her immediate relatives at her office with six of the 15 office members close family.
In a suit filed at the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi, Mr. Collins Barno and Mr. Stanley Kiprotich Bii claims the Women Rep failed to adhere to minimum requirements of transparency, fair competition, merit, and integrity in recruitment of her office staff.
The MP’s relatives are accused of collectively receiving Sh612,000 per month from the staff salary fund, which has a total allocation of Sh811,000. However, the petitioners did not reveal the specific family ties between the MP and the six employees in question.
“While appointing the six persons, Ms. Chepkorir also totally ignored the gender principle which is a requirement in public appointments as the dictates of the Constitution. There are only three women out of the 15 staff she has employed in her office,” the petitioners alleged.
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The six persons, Bett Kipkirui (county manager, office of woman representative), Dominic Mutai (deputy manager), Sheila Chepng’eno (county coordinator), Josephat Kiplangat (field officer), Pius Kiplangat (communications officer) and Emmanuel Kipkorir (media personnel), are listed as interested parties in the unfair employment case.
“Unless the said appointments are quashed by an order of the court, it will set a bad precedent in the country, where public institutions and appointments will be made unlawfully and irregularly on the basis of partisan consideration instead of strict compliance with the legal requirements,” says the petitioners.
They want court to declare that the appointment of the six people by Ms Chepkorir to the public office as support staff in the office of Bomet county woman representative is invalid, unlawful and unconditional.
“We urge the court to issue an order directing Ms Chepkorir and Parliamentary Service Commission to recruit their support staff afresh following the guildlines issued by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and strictly in accordance with the law,” the petitioners seek.