Mudavadi accuses Health CS of trying to cover up graft
What you need to know:
- Dr Mailu accused the internal auditor of leaking an incomplete report and said he would hire an independent auditor to verify the corruption claims raised in the report.
- However, Mr Mudavadi on Monday said that Kenyans are intelligent and the government in power will not be able to deceive them.
Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi has accused Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu of attempting to conceal the truth behind the Sh5 billion scandal at the ministry.
Mr Mudavadi said the plan to hire an external auditor to assess the internal audit is blackmail and a plot for a cover-up, which he said is illegal.
“If it is a fact, as the government has all along insisted that the contentious audit report is a draft subject to verification, then hiring an external auditor to verify the internal auditors report is superfluous.
"In any case, Cabinet Secretary (CS) Cleopa Mailu's claim[s] that no money was stolen do not add up when he still wants to discredit the internal auditors report via an external audit,” he said.
On Sunday, Dr Mailu accused the internal auditor of leaking an incomplete report and said he would hire an independent auditor to verify the corruption claims raised in the report.
However, Mr Mudavadi on Monday said Kenyans are intelligent and the government in power will not be able to deceive them.
"The Jubilee regime ought to be told in no uncertain terms that their intention is archaic and Kenyans have come of age to know when they are being lied to.
"The intention of an external audit not sanctioned by the Office of the Auditor-General Edward Ouko whose agent is the internal auditor, Mr Bernard Muchere, will not escape the scrutiny of many discerning Kenyans."
Mr Mudavadi said Kenyans deserve accountability from their government and not deception and lies.
“It is obvious to Kenyans that the Jubilee regime holds with contempt the Office of the Auditor-General, despite it being a constitutional office. Only recently they passed unconstitutional amendments in law in a vain attempt to strip the office of its constitutional powers,” he said.
Amani National Congress leader further said Mr Ouko's office is granted autonomy by the Constitution as delineated in Chapter 15, Article 248 under Section three.
He also said the Office of the Auditor-General is the one supposed to carry out the audit or hire another auditor, but it must explain its inability to perform the exercise.
Hence, he added, Dr Mailu's intention to seek the services of an external auditor is a "decoy to buy time to clean and to doctor records".
