Impromptu visit: CS Ruku comes face to face with lateness, laziness by civil servants
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku came face to face with the laziness and inefficiency that plague many government institutions on Monday.
Mr Ruku, who was in Nakuru to conduct an unannounced inspection of service delivery, was shocked to find that several government officers had arrived at work as late as 10 am.
The CS and his team from Nairobi arrived at the Rift Valley Regional headquarters in Nakuru City at around 5 am, ready to establish what time civil servants operating from there report for work.
Civil servants locked out of their offices, at the Rift Valley Regional Headquarters in Nakuru, for coming late to work during Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku's impromptu visit on June 23, 2025.
However, to his surprise, some employees had still not arrived by 9 am.
When they finally arrived, they faced his wrath.
The visibly angry CS ordered that the civil servants be locked out for arriving late.
Consequently, several civil servants, whose offices are located within the Rift Valley Regional headquarters, were locked out for nearly an hour. The CS then reprimanded them before allowing them to access their offices.
Government offices
"I made an impromptu visit to the government offices to establish the time at which government employees report for work, and also to assess the delivery of government services. I was shocked to find that most civil servants were arriving as late as 10 am," said Mr Ruku.
"I arrived very early to conduct an inspection, and I am shocked. That attitude cannot be tolerated," he added.
The CS expressed his disappointment that, even at 9am, offices were empty and unattended, despite there being queues of citizens seeking services.
"All civil servants must be punctual. It is Monday, and people are arriving at work at 9 am. We must dedicate ourselves to serving Kenyans. It will never be business as usual. We cannot allow this to happen. The government does not need lazy people who arrive at work whenever they want, even at 10 am," he added.
However, he revealed that he had found some senior civil servants in the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), Immigration and elsewhere already in the office by 7 am.
"I was impressed to find the Nakuru County TSC director, who had reported for work by 6 am, and all his staff were in the office by 8 am. I also found other officials, such as the regional surveyor and the regional probation coordinator, and most of the immigration department officers were in their offices very early," he revealed.
However, hundreds of civil servants operating from the regional headquarters were caught unaware of the CS's visit.
His visit came just a day after he reiterated the government’s commitment to decentralising services, by establishing more Huduma Centres across the country to ensure faster and more efficient service delivery.
Civil servants locked out of their offices, at the Rift Valley Regional Headquarters in Nakuru, for coming late to work during Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku's impromptu visit on June 23, 2025.
Mr Ruku on Sunday called on public servants to remain dedicated and serve all Kenyans equally without fear or favour.
“As leaders, we must focus on service delivery. The time for politics will come in 2027, but for now, we must work,” he said then.
The Rift Valley headquarters' offices houses the Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Dr Abdi Hassan's offices and those of several government departments including education, immigration, lands, and health among others.
On Monday, the CS warned lazy civil servants and those who abscond duty or arrive late at work, saying he will introduce radical changes aimed at taming the conundrum of absenteeism in the public service.
"Going forward it will not be business as usual as lethargy, and laziness in public service, will not be allowed. The government will not tolerate laziness," said Ruku.
He asked civil servants to discharge their duties with professionalism, humility and work efficiently while offering services to the public.
"Public servants must put the public good before their own. Public servants who exhibit acts of laxity and unethical conduct will not be entertained whatsoever. People must approach their duties with seriousness and commitment at all times to achieve the set goals as outlined in the performance contracts," he added.
He called on the public servants to embrace the virtues of attitudinal change towards official duties for the realisation of a vibrant civil service.