Pension scheme NSSF is headed for tough times after a court stopped its board from holding any meeting pending the determination of a case filed by trade union group Cotu.
Trouble began when NSSF rejected the name of one of Cotu’s nominees to the board. Whereas the board accepted Isaac Okello Mbingi, it rejected Rose Omamo.
Ms Omamo’s name was consequently omitted from a Kenya Gazette notice issued by the Ministry of Labour.
This prompted Cotu to sue, protesting the NSSF move to reject Ms Omamo.
Justice Monica Mbaru stopped any future meetings of the board pending the determination of the case.
“The applicant is hereby granted 21 days leave. That leave granted shall operate restraining the Cabinet Secretary Labour and the board of the National Social Security Social Fund from convening for board matters in the absence of the applicant’s representatives,” Justice Mbaru ordered.
‘Sinister motives’
Cotu, which describes the rejection of one of its nominees as “motivated by sinister motives”, said it will only withdraw the case once Ms Omamo is gazetted as a member of the NSSF board.
If the case continues, NSSF will be handicapped in its plans to hire staff, which, according to Cotu secretary-general Francis Atwoli, can only happen with the board’s approval.
“The hiring, as advertised by NSSF, can only happen when the NSSF Board and various committees, including HR committee, are legally constituted and the gazettement of Cotu (K) nominee Rose Omamo,” the fiery trade unionist said in a press statement.
It is an open secret that the relationship between Cotu and NSSF is frosty. Mr Atwoli has repeatedly accused the NSSF board of corruption and embezzling public funds.
In May 2019, he said NSSF had raised Sh260 billion with about Sh190 billion held by fund managers.
“If I were not there (on the NSSF board), there would be no NSSF today. They did not want to gazette Jacqueline Mugo and me to the board because they were timing the elections,” he said in an interview on NTV.
“They wanted to take all the money. Mugo and I put our foot down and said no money should be stolen from NSSF.”
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