Resign or deny the rumours James Ole Kiyiapi

Murithi Mutiga, as always, was thought-provoking this Sunday when he writes that Martha Karua and James Ole Kiyiapi must do better if they are to run a successful presidential campaign in 2012 (To Karua and Kiyiapi: You have to do much better to topple Old Guard, Sunday Nation, May 15, 2011). He asks Prof Kiyiapi to take the proper lessons from Barack Obama's successful presidential campaign if he is to secure the presidency in next year's general elections. However, he misses a big point: if James Ole Kiyiapi is the face of an honourable presidential campaign, he has misstepped by not coming out and saying that he is running in the first place.

Prof Kiyiapi is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Basic Education, having taken over from the hapless Prof Karega Mutahi who had been in charge when some of the scandals that bedevil the Ministry came to light. Prof Kiyiapi had come to the ministry via the Ministry of Medical Services and the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources. It is moot that Prof Kiyiapi is an honourable man in a government that frequently has such men in short supply. However, if his presidential ambitions have become fodder for Op-Ed pieces in our daily newspapers, it is time that he came out and admitted or denied the rumours swirling regarding his putative presidential bid.

Public Service rules are clear that when a public servant wishes to enter elective office, he must resign from the public service. One of the objectives of this rule is to prevent public servants from misusing or abusing their positions for political reasons. It is now widely reported that the registration of the Restoration and Rebuild Kenya Party is linked to a possible presidential run by the PS. if it is true, then his continued stay in government is unconscionable. If he is unwilling to play by the rules at this stage, it is entirely possible that he will be willing to overlook the strictures of other rules once his campaign gets underway or if he is elected president of the Republic. It therefore, behooves him to step down and concentrate on his political career. Everything he now does will be interpreted by interested parties through political prisms. He is likely to be accused of using his public office for personal gain, an accusation that could have adverse consequences on him both personally and politically.

Political campaigns require money and supporters. Will the PS raise his campaign funds using his office? Will he require the public officers he oversees to contribute to his campaign? Will every decision he makes now be with the presidential campaign in mind? These are some of the questions that must be addressed at present. To put them to bed, Prof Kiyiapi must either announce his presidential bid and resign from government or deny any such ambitions and carry out his duties faithfully and responsibly. His continued silence over this matter likens him to the hyenas in the Tenth Parliament that Kenyans have so come to loath.