Staff members who have transitioned from the Kenya National Library Service (KNLS) to county governments are raising serious concerns about the management of their financial benefits.
They are demanding answers from KNLS CEO Dr. Charles Ngui Nzibo, accusing him of failing to address the mismanagement of their pension, welfare dues, and a questionable land investment. The issue has gained attention after Cyprian Nyakundi shared their grievances on his X page.
According to the affected staff, the KNLS Board invested their money in land, but instead of appreciating, the land’s value has continued to decline.
Employees have been pushing for the land to be sold so that they can receive their rightful share of the proceeds, but their pleas have been ignored. They now believe that the land acquisition itself was a fraudulent scheme designed to benefit a few individuals at their expense.
Another major concern is the pension scheme, which is growing at a meager rate of just 1% to 3%. Employees had expected that their pension savings would secure them a comfortable retirement, but with such low growth, their financial future is now uncertain.
Many have requested to move their savings to private pension schemes that offer better returns, but these requests have been blocked. Some officials at the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) are allegedly involved in preventing them from accessing alternative pension plans.
When affected employees contact RBA, they are reportedly told that they are still KNLS employees, despite having official documents showing they were devolved to county governments in July 2023.
The Maktaba Welfare Fund, which was originally established to assist staff in times of bereavement, has also been mismanaged. Employees contributed money voluntarily through salary deductions, expecting to receive support when needed.
However, they claim that officials turned the fund into their personal cash source, draining it completely. When the welfare was dissolved, only KSh 500,000 remained, an amount that is far below what members contributed.
Employees say this money is not even enough to compensate staff from a single branch, yet there are 43 devolved branches.Dr. Nzibo, who was once a fellow employee at KNLS before becoming CEO, has been expected to support the affected staff in reclaiming their lost money.
However, he has remained silent on the issue, allowing the alleged corruption and mismanagement to continue. Employees say his leadership has been a disappointment, and he has failed to take action against the corrupt officials who drained the welfare fund and mismanaged pension savings.
Some even believe his predecessor did a better job in comparison.The affected staff are now calling for a forensic audit into the land purchase, pension scheme, and welfare fund.
They want transparency in how their money was handled and demand that those responsible be held accountable. Their frustration continues to grow as their financial security remains in jeopardy, with no clear answers from the KNLS leadership.
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