Trouble Is Brewing In KCPA As Candidate’s Name Is Erroneously Removed From List.
Trouble is brewing at the Kenya Counselling and Physiological Association (KCPA) after a
section of their Kiambu chapter erroneously removed Susan Wambui Gitau
from its list of nominees to the chairmanship contest.
The action led to some professional counsellors from Kiambu County to protest the manner in
which she was removed from the list of contestants.
The
Nazarene University lecturer was until the night of 13th August
2016, one of the duly paid up candidates for the chairperson’s position during
the forthcoming countrywide elections for County officials of KCPA scheduled
for the 27th and 28th of this month.
During a
meeting held at Africana College of Professionals on Monday, the distraught counsellors
accused KCPA national chairman James Kimani Githongo of interfering with the
Kiambu branch internal affairs by deleting Gitau’s name from the list of
candidates thereby leaving Daniel Kimata as the sole candidate for the County
chairperson against the will of the counsellors.
They demanded
to know the criteria used by the governing board to suspend Gitau via mail and
whether due process was followed as per the association’s constitution. They wanted
the board to furnish members with details of the grounds of suspension or the
proceedings of the meeting that arrived to the decision.
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| The original list of nominees before the ouster of Susan Gitau |
They argued
that the intolerance manifested by the board brought to question its reputation
thereby threatening the basic principles of natural justice and the very
fundamental fabric of their organisation.
According
to one of the counsellors Johnson Kinyanjui, the differences between Gitau and Githongo
arose from the Garissa massacre counselling assignment which was done by KCPA
in collaboration with the Red Cross where counsellors who offered counselling
to family members were not paid despite good facilitation.
Kinyanjui pointed
out that due to her
impressive national and international profile as well as her transparency in tackling
issues in both personal and organisational domains, Gitau is viewed
suspiciously by members of the board associated with Githongo.
The counsellors
cited politicisation of the professional body as one of the main problems
affecting its operations and called for an overhaul in its leadership. They said that
the suspension of Gitau who is also the Director of International Professional
and Counseling Centre (IPCC) from the board was irregular and wanting, simply
because she refused to act as a flower girl.
Gitau has
been at loggerheads with Githongo since May 2015 when she
was unceremoniously
suspended as an elected board member and chairperson of the Standards, Ethics
and Accreditation chairperson in the national office.
 |
| The amended list following the removal of Gitau's name. |
Speaking via the
phone from Kigali Rwanda where she is heading a delegation of security officers
who are visiting the country to learn of trauma experiences from the Rwanda
genocide, Gitau said she has the support of the county board including the
incumbent chairperson Jennifer Mwangi. She said of most concern is that the
electoral committee formed by KCPA has not been introduced to members
officially in line with the associations constitution.
Efforts to
reach Githongo were unsuccessful as his phone went an answered.
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