Chiefs are an important in our societies since they play major roles. They were introduced in the colonial times. Chiefs have various roles from solving disputes in the community to organizing communal labor .
They are employed by the public service commission and are part of the National Government. They also have a role of informing the community about government programs and acting on behalf of the national government at the community level.
Chiefs have assistant chiefs who also act on their absentia. They have a responsibility of maintenance of law and order in their area of jurisdiction.
Chiefs and assistant chiefs may sometimes assign a person in their jurisdiction to help them in carrying out their daily duties . The person can carry out orders given to them by the chiefs as they are directed by the chief. Chiefs also liase with village elders to deliver their duties since village elders are close to the people in the community.
Some of the qualifications of becoming a chief and assistant chief include :
- One must be over 35years
- One must have a mean grade of C plain in KCSE and above or a C plain in English or Kiswahili.
- He or she must be a resident of the location or sub-location of interest .
- One must have worked in the public service commission for at least 5 years.
- One must be a citizen of integrity who is respectable and has good communication skills .
- One must have a certificate of either community development,social work ,public administration,disaster management or it’s equivalent from an acknowledged Kenyan institution.
Chiefs salaries range from Ksh 30,000 to Ksh 70,000 monthly , depending on one’s experience.
An assistant chief salary ranges from Ksh 26,000 to Ksh 47,000.
The usual salary of Kenyan chiefs is around Ksh .40,000 to Ksh 70,000 as the highest paid in Kenya . Assistant chiefs’ most common salary is around Ksh. 30,000.
In Kenya we have approximately 6,000 chiefs and assistant chiefs representing the public.