House team wants Waiguru probed over looting of NYS

What you need to know:

  • MPs have criticised former Devolution CS, accusing her of “overall leadership failures” and ignoring the Constitution “in its entirety” regarding integrity.
  • PAC has asked for the prosecution of Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and his partners at Sing’oei, Murkomen & Sigei Advocates for “abetting money laundering”.
  • The report asks the government to blacklist Mr Ben Gethi and Ms Josephine Kabura, who have both been charged in connection with the theft at NYS. 

Anne Waiguru is not a big woman, but she nevertheless appears to fill a room because of her abrasive self-assuredness and — as MPs have concluded — disregard for integrity in leadership.

After their investigations, the MPs have criticised the former powerful Devolution Cabinet secretary in the most excoriating of terms, accusing her of “overall leadership failures” and ignoring the Constitution “in its entirety” regarding integrity.

As a result, they have asked that she be required to account for her wealth, investigated afresh for abuse of office and, ultimately, barred from holding public office if found guilty.

The Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly has also thrown the book at all individuals and institutions it believes were complicit, or negligent, in the looting of hundreds of millions of shillings from the National Youth Service when Ms Waiguru was the minister.

MONEY LAUNDERING

The watchdog has asked for the prosecution of Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and his partners at Sing’oei, Murkomen & Sigei Advocates for “aiding and abetting money laundering”. Similar recommendations have been made against MM Gitonga & Advocates and Ogola & Mujera Advocates for the same reason.

The PAC report, which was adopted by the House on Wednesday, brings into sharp focus the institutions that are meant to implement its recommendations: the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

While the DCI, and its commanders, was accused of being a partner in the crimes of looting, both the EACC and the DPP have demonstrated a singular aversion to investigating in a robust manner not just the NYS case, but corruption cases in general.

The DPP was asked to review his decision not to prosecute Adam Harakhe for his possible involvement in the loss of Sh695 million when he held the Authority to Incur Expenditure at the NYS.

REVIEW QUALIFICATIONS

The Commission for University Education (CUE) was asked to review Mr Harakhe’s academic qualifications and establish the authenticity of his certificates, while the Public Service Commission (PSC) was asked to review the disciplinary cases throughout his career in the civil service. 

Mr Harakhe’s rushed appointment as NYS deputy director-general was the subject of the PAC’s attention in the report.

The report asks the government to blacklist Ben Gethi and Josephine Kabura, who have both been charged in connection with the theft at NYS. 

Former NYS boss Japhter Rugut is to be investigated over the direct procurement of The Consulting House, the company owned by political commentator Mutahi Ngunyi, to design the plan to revamp the NYS. The Consulting House was eventually overpaid by Sh12.5 million.   

THEFT OF PUBLIC FUNDS

The EACC and the DCI were asked to establish whether Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge ought to be charged with aiding and abetting theft of public funds for failing to advise the government on the abnormal payments from the Devolution ministry and NYS accounts.

Ms Waiguru is currently seeking to become the next governor of Kirinyaga County and has the Jubilee Party ticket. 

In recommending that she be kept away from public office, the committee said she acted in contravention of the Constitution’s provisions on integrity “in its entirety”, and that she acted contrary to Article 73, which provides that a State officer must “bring honour to the nation” and dignity to the office. 

The PAC was also specific on Ms Waiguru because there exists a Cabinet resolution made in December 2014 in which the powers of a Cabinet secretary were enhanced. 

SUMMON EVIDENCE

Despite Parliament’s immense powers to summon evidence, the PAC could not get its hands on that Cabinet resolution and stated in its report that it was not provided when asked for. 

The PAC is also categorical that the report of a fresh DCI investigation into abuse of office by Ms Waiguru should be made public and that an audit of her lifestyle over the past five years be “thorough”. The findings of this audit should be made public by the end of this year. 

When the report was tabled last year, Ms Waiguru described it as “saying the obvious”.  “It’s in the law. Those found guilty, whether on NYS fraud, the health scandal, hate speech or anything else that is of a criminal nature, and has exhausted all mechanisms of appeal, should be barred. This is not unique to me,” she said. 

Her interpretation was that the PAC had not found anything linking her to the fraud. 

“The PAC conclusion is an embarrassment for those who have made political capital out of this unfortunate situation,” she added. 

WORTHY OF INVESTIGATIONS

The PAC handed to the EACC and the DCI the task of digging into Sh23 billion worth of contracts at the NYS that they deemed worthy of investigations. 

It asked the agencies to establish the names of the directors or owners of the companies, whether they had any relations with senior officials at the ministry or the NYS, and the names of the banks into which the payments were made, plus signatories of the accounts. 

They were also asked to get the names of all the end recipients of the money and the procurement processes that led to the awarding of contracts. 

The agencies were also asked to establish whether goods and services were delivered, to demand authenticated delivery notes and inspection or acceptance reports, and find out whether the Kenya Revenue Authority received its dues from the companies involved.

CHARGED IN COURT

Ms Waiguru’s running mate in the Kirinyaga governor's race, Peter Ndambiri, said the former minister is innocent until proved guilty.

“The move by MPs is dangerous and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) should not accept the report by PAC,” Mr Ndambiri told reporters in Kutus.

Accusing the MPs of a witch-hunt, he added: “Ms Waiguru has not been charged in court or jailed and, as such, she is not supposed to be barred from seeking the governorship seat.”

Additional reporting by George Munene.