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Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ has defended the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) against extortion allegations from governors, claiming there is an elaborate scheme to block members from reviewing county audit reports on time.
Kajwang’ who chairs the committee, warned that failure to scrutinise the reports within the set constitutional timelines would render the committee’s recommendations null and void, effectively setting implicated governors free.
Speaking on Spice FM on Wednesday, February 11, Kajwang’ said CPAC only has up to three months to consider the Auditor General’s reports, and any work done outside that period is not legally binding.
According to him, county bosses were “scared” and were using various tactics to beat the timelines.
“The High Court ruled that where there are constitutional timelines, they are mandatory. The Constitution explicitly states that Parliament has three months to consider audit reports. We will bring our recommendations within the timelines and expect that every other institution involved will take timely action,” said Kajwang’.
“In the past, we’ve forwarded files to some entities who tell us they are not bound to act because the cases were escalated after the three-month window,” he added.
The law gives the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) six months to investigate cases recommended by Parliament before forwarding files to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for review.
The ODPP may then press charges where there is sufficient evidence.
Kajwang’ said the EACC and other bodies tasked with acting on the committee’s recommendations would be held accountable by Parliament. However, he decried the lack of similar timelines for investigative agencies, saying the loophole is often exploited by corrupt leaders, with some probes running for years.
The Council of Governors (CoG) on Monday suspended appearances before the committee, accusing unnamed members of extortion, harassment, and witch-hunt claims that were contested by the Senate.
The oversight committee insists that in the Embu, Bungoma, and Vihiga cases that triggered the standoff, it relied solely on the Auditor-General’s findings and evidence contained in documents submitted by the governors.
“Extortion is a serious crime. It is in the Penal Code, the Bribery Act, and the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act, hence the need for the governors to provide evidence… this is a case of the thief turning back at the pursuer and saying they are the thief,” he said.
In Embu, the committee is probing an incident where Sh10 million meant for aggregation parks was diverted to a boda boda empowerment programme.
Vihiga County is facing questions over an unexplained Sh5 million spent on a housewarming party, while Bungoma County spent Sh3.6 million on a Christmas tree.
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Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ has defended the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) against extortion allegations from governors, claiming there is an elaborate scheme to block members from reviewing county audit reports on time.
Kajwang’ who chairs the committee, warned that failure to scrutinise the reports within the set constitutional timelines would render the committee’s recommendations null and void, effectively
setting implicated governors free
.
Speaking on Spice FM on Wednesday, February 11, Kajwang’ said CPAC only has up to three months to consider the Auditor General’s reports, and any work done outside that period is not legally binding.
According to him, county bosses were “scared” and were using various tactics to beat the timelines.
“The High Court ruled that where there are constitutional timelines, they are mandatory. The Constitution explicitly states that Parliament has three months to consider audit reports. We will bring our recommendations within the timelines and expect that every other institution involved will take timely action,” said Kajwang’.
“In the past, we’ve forwarded files to some entities who tell us they are not bound to act because the cases were escalated after the three-month window,” he added.
The law gives the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) six months to investigate cases recommended by Parliament before forwarding files to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for review.
The ODPP may then press charges where there is sufficient evidence.
Kajwang’ said the EACC and other bodies tasked with acting on the committee’s recommendations would be held accountable by Parliament. However, he decried the lack of similar timelines for investigative agencies, saying the loophole is often exploited by corrupt leaders, with some probes running for years.
The Council of Governors (CoG) on Monday
suspended appearances
before the committee, accusing unnamed members of extortion, harassment, and witch-hunt claims that were contested by the Senate.
The oversight committee insists that in the Embu, Bungoma, and Vihiga cases that triggered the standoff, it relied solely on the Auditor-General’s findings and evidence contained in documents submitted by the governors.
“Extortion is a serious crime. It is in the Penal Code, the Bribery Act, and the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act, hence the need for the governors to provide evidence… this is a case of the thief turning back at the pursuer and saying they are the thief,” he said.
In Embu, the committee is
probing an incident
where Sh10 million meant for aggregation parks was diverted to a boda boda empowerment programme.
Vihiga County is facing questions over an unexplained Sh5 million spent on a housewarming party, while Bungoma County spent Sh3.6 million on a Christmas tree.
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By Denis Omondi