Opposition MPs out to have Waiguru ‘punished’

Former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru. Opposition MPs in the Public Accounts Committee will push to have Ms Waiguru barred from any public office over the National Youth Service scandal. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Further investigations would be required to determine whether Ms Waiguru was culpable since what happened during the Sh791 million was “pure theft”.
  • Ms Waiguru told the committee that she was in charge of the house and some employees were engaged in theft and that she should not be held responsible.
  • Kibwezi East MP Jessica Mbalu said barring someone from contesting in a case where public funds have been lost was not enough punishment.

Opposition MPs in the Public Accounts Committee will push to have former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru barred from any public office over the National Youth Service scandal, some of them have resolved.

Five meetings after the committee started work on the final report of their scrutiny of the special audit that uncovered the extent of the scandal, the committee is yet to agree on recommendations against the key persons of interest.

On Monday, some of the MPs in the committee told the Nation that they aim to have the report completed by the end of this week. The team has met in Mombasa and thrice in Nairobi to come up with the report.

Kajiado North MP Joseph Manje said further investigations would be required to determine whether Ms Waiguru was culpable since what happened during the Sh791 million was “pure theft”.

EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN GRAFT

“Ms Waiguru told the committee that she was in charge of the house and some employees were engaged in theft and that she should not be held responsible.

“A special investigation by the anti-corruption agencies would have to be instituted to establish whether she had engaged in corruption, which the committee cannot do,” he said.

Kibwezi East MP Jessica Mbalu said barring someone from contesting in a case where public funds have been lost was not enough punishment and the funds must be recovered and those responsible prosecuted.

Some of the opposition MPs see the delay in getting the report done, and the differences over what is to be said regarding Jubilee members who were persons of interest in the scam, as a deliberate ploy to slow down the work of the committee.
Already, there have been differences over what action is to be taken against the law firm co-owned by Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen for refusing to hand over relevant bank statements.