The Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) is staring at legal battles following a flawed process to hire a new Executive Director.
The association has found itself in dilemma and uncertain future after its membership got divided after a new executive director was allegedly imposed on them by the board.
In a heated Emergency General Meeting last week, the members tasked the six-member board led by Dr Jane Thuo to explain why they had issued an offer letter to a candidate for the position but later revoked it under unclear circumstances.
Trouble at the association started when renowned journalist Judy Kaberia resigned as the Executive Director, a year after her appointment.
Several sources have told The Standard that although Kaberia was to serve for a term of three years after her August 2021 appointment, the pressure and frustration by the board almost drove her into depression prompting her to resign.
"Kaberia wanted to leave a legacy that those who enter the media after us do not face the challenges we face. She had grown the membership from 98 when she joined to the current 264. She had pulled a good number of donors on our side and the association had started to stamp its visibility, unfortunately, before she could ride on the success, she was maliciously forced out by the board," one of the sources said.
According to the source, the board felt Kaberia was an obstacle to them enjoying a fraction of the money from donors and thus the best way was to get rid of her.
Reached for comment, Kaberia although did not deny or agree, said she was not in a position to comment on the matter.
Immediately after Kaberia resigned, the board embarked on a process of recruiting her replacement. Adverts were published for interested candidates asked to apply.
According to the board chairperson Dr Thuo, out of the total applications, 6 applicants were shortlisted and four were invited for interviews.
"We conducted the first round of interviews and narrowed down to two candidates who were invited to the second round of interviews," she said.
The Standard can reveal that these two candidates are Jackline Lidubwi and Patience Nyange who are veteran journalists.
Lidubwi is a former journalist at KBC currently handles high-level projects on persons with disabilities. Nyange is a former journalist and self-made politician who contested for Taita Taveta governorship in the August General Election but lost.
According to Dr Thuo, the board later issued an employment offer to Lidubwi after she was considered fit for the job.
"However, we did some background checks on the two candidates which included making calls to their referees. These checks extended beyond the said referees and after review, the board rescinded Lidubwi's offer and rather opted for Nyange as the ideal candidate for the job," Thuo explained to members.
It is from here that angry members tasked the board to explain why they had offered Lidubwi an offer letter before they conducted the background checks.
Although the board maintained the move was in the best interest of the association, it failed to explain finer details in the background checks that warranted them to pick Nyange instead of Lidubwi.
The members also were mad in that as the matter was still under debate, the board had already notified Nyange who had picked and signed the contract of employment, occupied the office without official hand over from Ms Kaberia.
"Madam chair, we have a feeling that this board has no regard for the concerns raised by the members and a result has subjected us to psychological abuse. This board must accept full responsibility for the flawed process and offer a public apology," a section of the members demanded.
As a result, the meeting resolved that the board through the Chair must offer a written, unconditional public apology to both candidates, informing them that the recruitment process has been nullified and cancelled forthwith, as it was found to be flawed and tainted with illegalities.
The board was also at pains to explain why they had picked Nyange, who is accused of having walked out with a group of her supporters when she lost the board member elections and formed a splinter group that has been competing with the association.
The board was tasked to revoke the employment contract of Ms Nyange as the current Executive Director as it was based on a flawed and illegal process to pave the way for a fresh recruitment process that follows AMWIK's, and best human resource practices.
As a result, the board was asked to conduct a fresh recruitment for the position with an external human resources company and re-appoint Lilian Museka as Acting Executive Director until the recruitment process is complete.
The members further demanded the immediate resignation of the six board members and resolved to hold them accountable for the flawed Executive Director Recruitment process.
Before the meeting ended, chairperson Jane Thuo rendered her verbal resignation although our source said she has not formally submitted it to the secretariat.
Her vice Rachel Ombaka and members Jane Godia and Cylia Kathambi have formally rendered their resignation notices.
Lilian Anyango and Venter Nkatha are yet to communicate.
The secretariat cannot transact any financial matters as two of the signatories who are board members have resigned.
Lidubwi in her sentiments said the move by the board had revealed serious human resource policy gaps and exposed the association to speculations.
"I trusted the process at AMWIK and believed that all of us would be given equal chances. Mistakes have been done and because we are human, anybody can make them. For now, the question is can the association be trusted by such flawed processes and cover-ups?" she posed.
Ms Nyange in her defence said was the rightful office holder and would not step aside as demanded by members.
She said she had been a member of the association for the last 13 years and thus was happy with her appointment and would ensure the association scales to greater heights.
"It is true that I am a member of 5 other groups that deal with media and the PR sector. But these groups have been there long before AMWIK and have never been a problem to the association. In fact, I will use this opportunity to recruit women in those groups to join our side," she said.
While opting to stay put in office, Ms Nyange vowed to seek court orders against any move by the members to forcefully oust her.
The members have also vowed to use legal means to get her out if she does not resign per the resolutions.
