The Kikuyu tribe has the most workers employed by the government, the latest report by the Public Service has revealed.
According to the report which was published by The Star, Kenya’s President William Ruto’s Kalenjin took the second largest portion of Public Service jobs in Kenya.
Kikuyu and Kalenjins, the two communities that have held the Presidency since independence are grossly overrepresented in government.
According to the report, 52, 841 Kikuyus have been employed in Public Service Jobs followed by Kalenjins which has 43,407.
Below is the list of the top 10 tribes that dominate Public Service Jobs in Kenya.
- Kikuyu – 52,841
- Kalenjin – 43,407
- Luhya – 29,951
- Luo- 29,327
- Kenyan Somali- 6,801
- Mijikenda- 8,339
- Meru- 12,494
- Turkana-1,883
- Teso-1,657
- Taita-3,819
In the bottom ten was Konso which had only two people employed in the Public Service.
Others in this category were the Nubians which had only 92, Orma 399, Sakuye 80, Wayyu 3, and Waluana 11.
Another report published in 2023 revealed that Kenyans from minority tribes face employment discrimination in counties.
The report by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), a public body aimed at addressing and reducing inter-ethnic conflicts in Kenya, showed that Kenyans from 29 small communities hold less than 1% of jobs in county public service across the country.
It showed that Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Luhya, and Luo tribes continue to dominate employment opportunities in the majority of the 47 counties, with over 90% ethnic dominance against the smaller tribes.
According to the County Government Act of 2012, all counties should not employ more than 70% of the workforce from one tribe, to ensure inclusivity, and fairness to all the ethnic groups in a particular county.
Only 13 counties out of the 47 have complied with the existing legal framework on ethnic diversity, with the cities of Nairobi, Mombasa, and Nakuru reported as the most ethnically diverse, with more than 30 ethnic groups represented in each of the county’s public service.
