I’ll not discuss accountability issues, Governor tells Senators

Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria has said that when he appears before a Senate committee next week he will not discuss accountability issues that were addressed during his impeachment motion last year.

However, Mr Wa Iria said he will honour Senate summons to discuss other issues but will not be taken back to issues on which he was cleared by the Senate committee and a whole House.

“Issues that are being raised now in the Senate County Public Accounts and Investments Committee chaired by Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o are the same issues that formed a substantive motion for my impeachment a year ago,” said the governor.

Addressing reporters in Nairobi, Mr Wa Iria said he had been at the Senate six times this year without fail under the instigation of Murang'a Senator Kembi Gitura, who, he said, is out to seek political mileage from the issue.

“These issues are being brought back through another sub-committee,” insisted the governor.

He observed that a number of governors have not appeared before the Senate committees because of their good working relations with their senators.

“The senator [Mr Gitura] has not given the county government a single proposal that can benefit people of Murang’a,” said Mr Wa Iria.

He said the deputy Speaker was misleading the Senate over the issue just because he dissented with the Senate decision last year to clear him.

On Tuesday, Mr Wa Iria appeared before the committee to shed light on several tenders that his government awarded various contractors.

He denied claims that he deliberately split tenders in disregard of the law to reward his favourite companies, adding that there was value for taxpayers’ money even though he did not go for competitive bidding that could have allowed more interested bidders to compete.

The governor was responding to the 2013/14 audit queries.

He also expressed concerns that the Senate could be accepting to be used by some people who want to score political points in the guise of calling governors to account for public funds.

However, Mr Gitura said the committee that handled his impeachment agreed with the Auditor-General’s observation on the need to investigate him further for the financial improprieties.