The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) is urging Parliament to amend the law to enforce stricter penalties on public institutions that fail to meet diversity and inclusivity standards.
In a report submitted to the Senate Standing Committee on National Cohesion and Integration, Equal Opportunity, and Regional Integration, NCIC recommended revising the National Cohesion and Integration Act of 2008.
The commission proposed that the new law should require employers to submit quarterly reports on ethnic diversity. According to NCIC, this would enable them to monitor compliance more effectively and produce comprehensive annual diversity audit reports.
To ensure adherence, NCIC suggested imposing a fine of at least Ksh10 million or a minimum prison term of five years for institutions that breach diversity and inclusivity laws.
Furthermore, NCIC advocates for the establishment of a legal threshold for ethnic group representation in senior management and other job categories within public institutions. The current County Government Act (Section 65[1e]) mandates that county public service boards fill at least 30 percent of entry-level positions with candidates from non-dominant communities within the devolved unit.
The National Cohesion and Integration Act of 2008 also prohibits any single community from occupying more than one-third of employment positions in state-owned firms. Sections 7(1) and (2) of the Act require all offices to reflect Kenya’s diverse population in their staffing, ensuring no public institution employs more than one-third of its workforce from the same community.
NCIC’s report revealed that 34 out of 47 counties had violated the law requiring at least 30 percent of positions to be held by staff from non-dominant communities, with only 13 counties complying with this requirement.
