Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) wants Parliament to kick-start the process of removing Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o from office following her damning revelation on Tuesday.
Cofek Secretary General Stephen Mutoro told the Public Petitions Committee Nyakang’o is equally as guilty as former National Treasury CS Ukur Yatani in the illegal withdrawal of Sh15.5 billion days to the August 9, 2022 elections.
Mutoro further called on Parliament to push for the formation of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into funds Kenya loses during electioneering periods.
“We must dig deeper into the Ukur-Nyakangó scam. We must also find out how the problem has played out in the past and the amounts Kenyans have lost,” he told the committee.
Mutoro said the illegal withdrawal of Sh15.5 billion would not have happened if Nyakang’o would not okay the process.
“She is not a whistle-blower but part of the problem. She should have established the purpose of the withdrawal and if the threshold was met. She should have also tried to establish if Yatani was lying to her about his conversation with the President,” he said.
Nyakang’o told the committee on Tuesday that she was pressured to authorize the release of Sh15.2 billion just five days before the August 9 general election.
She recounted before a parliamentary committee how the then Treasury CS invoked President Uhuru Kenyatta’s name numerous times to press her to approve the payments.
Yatani has since fought back against her claims while terming them as “false, malicious, and actionable in law.”
“This depiction is libelous and defamatory to my character and professional service to the public in many capacities. I have instructed my lawyers to study her utterances and advice on a lawsuit against her person,” he said.
On Thursday, Mutoro further said Parliament should do away with independent commissions and offices saying they have no value for money.
“These independent commissions and offices are just money guzzlers. They are of no value to Kenyans,” he said.
Mutoro asked the committee to direct the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to carry out thorough investigations into the money spent by the Jubilee administration in its final days in power.
“The committee should also recommend that a special audit needs to be conducted for the period between July and September 2022,” he added.
Mutoro added that Nyakan’go saying she was under duress was a laughable joke.
“Saying she was under duress is the most laughable joke of the century. She should have run to her office, leave her job or go to the nearest police station. The Whatsapp messages were not a gun,” he said.
Cofek has claimed the last government spent Sh55 billion which was unbudgeted.
A document presented by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) to MPs during their induction said Treasury disbursed the funds without the approval of the National Assembly.
The presentations said Sh23.1 billion has already been deposited to the various government Ministries and State Departments.
In a petition to the Clerk of the National Assembly Serah Kioko, Mutoro said the move amounts to blatant corruption.
-The-Star
