Auditor-General: Muthaura awarded scholarships to Kibaki's relatives
What you need to know:
- The committee wanted to know why the two students could not pursue their courses in Kenyan universities.
- Auditor-General Edward Ouko had questioned the expenditure of Sh25.5 million on the two students.
He said the money was paid through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A parliamentary committee wants former Public Service head Francis Muthaura reprimanded for wrongly awarding scholarships to two relatives of retired President Mwai Kibaki.
The National Assembly Public Accounts committee accused Mr Muthaura and Mr Kibaki’s private secretary Nick Wanjohi of communicating the instructions on behalf of the president to Prof Crispus Kiamba, who was the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education.
MASTER'S DEGREE
They told Prof Kiamba to award the scholarships to the children of Mr Kibaki’s nephew, according to the lawmakers.
The two studied in Australia while Mr Kibaki was the head of state.
Mr Ian Nderitu Githinji was two-and-a-half years into his Master’s in Analytics degree course when his father, Mr Philip Githinji, asked Mr Kibaki to help him get a scholarship, the report said.
DIRECTIVE
It added that Ian’s sister, Ms Sandra Githinji, was to pursue a four-year Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design.
“Mr Francis Muthaura and Prof Nick Wanjohi should be reprimanded for acting on a purported presidential directive that did not meet the requirements of the Constitution,” the committee said.
“They could not provide proof of official communication from the President, pursuant to the provisions of Article 135 of the Constitution.”
AUDITOR-GENERAL
Auditor-General Edward Ouko had questioned the expenditure of Sh25.5 million on the two students.
He said the money was paid through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
When he appeared before the committee, Prof Kiamba said he received instructions from Prof Wanjohi to facilitate scholarships for the two “needy” students.
AUTHORISATION
According to the report, upon getting instructions from the president’s private secretary, Prof Kiamba wrote to Mr Muthaura requesting his approval, which was promptly granted.
Having received authorisation from the head of civil service, Prof Kiamba facilitated the award of the scholarships to the two.
Mr Muthaura told the committee in September that Mr Githinji had lost his job with OiLibya after his children had just gone to Australia.
DEVASTED
He said the children were devastated to learn that their father could not afford to pay for their education while efforts to raise funds from family and friends were not yielding results.
“Desperate, Mr Githinji appealed to His Excellency the President for government scholarships. The President directed me to facilitate the same,” he told the lawmakers.
The committee also wanted to know why the two students could not pursue their courses in Kenyan universities.
Mr Kibaki was elected president in 2002 on a National Rainbow Coalition ticket and re-elected in 2007 on a Party of National Unity ticket. He left office in 2013.
