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Jubilee and Cord rivalry plays out at Ouko petition
Auditor-General Edward Ouko (right) with his lawyer Otiende Amollo before the Finance, Trade and Planning Committee on February 28, 2017. The High Court will rule on his case on Monday. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP.
What you need to know:
- Eight Cord MPs joined members of the Finance team and took an active role in putting Mr Emmanuel Mwagambo Mwagonah to task.
- Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno also suggested that individuals disgruntled with the work of the Auditor-General could be after Mr Ouko.
- Under pressure from the MPs, some of whom openly dismissed him as “a gun for hire”, Mr Mwagonah said he was feeling under attack.
Opposition MPs have set the stage for a fierce contest with their Jubilee rivals over the fate of Auditor-General Edward Ouko, who is the subject of a petition for removal from office over a raft of allegations.
MPs from the opposition coalition dominated the proceedings of the Finance, Trade and Planning Committee as it started hearings in the petition by advocate Emmanuel Mwagambo Mwagonah.
Using the provision that an MP can attend any committee meeting as “a friend of the committee”, eight Cord MPs joined members of the Finance team and took an active role in putting Mr Mwagonah to task.
Among the “friends” who attended the meetings were Fred Outa (Nyando), Tom Kajwang (Ruaraka), Timothy Bosire (Kitutu Masaba), Jakoyo Midiwo (Gem), Dr James Nyikal (Seme), Florence Mutua (Busia Woman Rep) and Chris Wamalwa (Kiminini).
As anger increased over Mr Mwagonah’s petition, ODM Nominated MP Dr Oburu Oginga said: “We are concerned that any Jaluo who is holding a senior position is being targeted. Almost all of them have been removed.”
When Mr Ouko later complained that the petition had been fast-tracked through the National Assembly, Dr Oginga was again angry, and said: “That is a kangaroo process for the tribunal by the President, who wants to remove him.” He was, however, forced to withdraw the remark.
Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno also suggested that individuals disgruntled with the work of the Auditor-General could be after Mr Ouko.
“We are going on record as a Parliament that has harassed every independent office,” said Mr Otieno.
Dr Oginga’s statement came towards the end of the meeting with Mr Mwagonah.
SITTING INTERRUPTED
The seriousness with which the matter has been taken by the Opposition was evident from the start, with the MPs taking an active role in the proceedings.
Mr Ouko was also present, along with his lawyer Otiende Amollo and senior staff from the Office of the Auditor-General, and observed the proceedings placidly, sometimes smiling and sometimes looking on gravely. Siaya senator James Orengo also stepped in briefly to observe the proceedings.
In a long sitting last evening interrupted by arguments over matters of law, Mr Ouko and Mr Amollo described the petition as fundamentally flawed and questioned its apparent fast tracking in the National Assembly.
Mr Amollo said the petition was inadmissible as it was evident from Mr Mwagonah’s submissions that it was incomplete and that should have been discovered during scrutiny by the Clerk of the National Assembly and staff in the legal department.
“Had they done it as diligently as they should have, they would not have admitted an inadmissible petition. As a committee, you should address admissibility and you would not even go to the facts,” said Mr Amollo.
Mr Mwagonah said he became aware of the issues at the Office of the Auditor-General in the course of handling a case a client he did not name had filed against Mr Ouko at the High Court.
WASTAGE OF PUBLIC FUNDS
He alleged that Mr Ouko was involved in wastage of public funds, contravention of the Constitution in terms of integrity, violation of the laws of procurement as well as laws on public audit and integrity.
“I am pointing this committee in certain directions. It is then incumbent upon you by virtue of powers you have under the Constitution to investigate the matter further,” said Mr Mwagonah.
Under pressure from the MPs, some of whom openly dismissed him as “a gun for hire”, Mr Mwagonah said he was feeling under attack.
“I am increasingly feeling like I am the one under trial. This is not empty rhetoric,” he said.
He said he would provide records of payments showing that the Auditor General presided over wastage by having a telephone bill of Sh1 million, Sh10 million for a Mombasa office that was not used, and Sh25 million for partitioning that did not happen.
Mr Mwagonah said he had employment records to prove nepotism and tribalism in employment patterns at the Office of the Auditor-General.
Mr Ouko admitted giving Baker Tilly Merali’s, who had been appointed by Parliament to audit the accounts of the Kenya National Audit Office, a separate job to assess the internal controls of the office.
Mr Ouko said he was “a stranger to allegations” that he spent Sh1 million on a telephone bill and denied claims that he frequently undertakes private trips disguised as official ones.
“I think it is for the petitioner to identify the trips that he says are private. Personally, all the trips I have undertaken are official,” said Mr Ouko
