NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 8 – NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 8 – A parliamentary watchdog committee has summoned former Kenyatta University Vice Chancellors Prof. Olive Mugenda and Prof. Paul Wainaina to appear before it over audit queries relating to an alleged Sh6.2 billion loss of public funds.
The two former university chiefs will appear alongside Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. John Okumu to respond to issues raised in a special audit conducted by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu covering the 2018/2019 to 2020/2021 financial years.
The audit report, which also examined transactions dating back to the 2014/2015 financial year, is currently under review by the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education chaired by Luanda MP Dick Maungu.
The committee resolved to summon the former Vice Chancellors after members argued that the acting Vice Chancellor could not adequately respond to decisions and expenditures that occurred before he assumed office.
Maungu said the officials who served as accounting officers during the period under review must personally account for the issues raised in the audit.
“The issues being tackled relate to 2014/2015 onwards, and it would be unfair to expect the current acting Vice Chancellor to answer for matters he neither handled nor has institutional memory of,” he said.
He warned that the committee would make far-reaching recommendations against individuals found responsible for any misuse of public resources.
“We have seen what appears to be massive looting of public funds and inappropriate conduct. Those responsible must be held accountable because we cannot allow public property to be misused or looted,” Maungu said.
Narok Woman Representative Rebecca Tonkei supported the move, saying the amount under investigation was too significant to proceed without hearing from the former accounting officers.
“We are dealing with over Sh6 billion. This is not petty cash. Professor Mugenda and Professor Wainaina must appear before this committee and explain where this money went,” she said.
Central Imenti MP Moses Kirima also backed the summons, citing concerns over expenditure exceeding Sh300 million on the university’s Kigali campus project, which he said showed little evidence of value for money following a parliamentary inspection visit.
Kasipul MP Boyd Were said the inquiry could not be concluded without hearing from the officials who approved the expenditure and oversaw the projects under scrutiny.
Among the issues flagged in the audit are unsupported expenditure, alleged overpayments, procurement irregularities and the establishment of the Kigali campus before obtaining the necessary approvals.
Appearing before the committee, Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Okumu acknowledged that many of the matters predated his tenure and agreed that his predecessors were better placed to address the concerns raised.
“The members are correct. There are issues that were handled by the chief executive officers of the day, and my former bosses would be in a better position to respond to most of the matters raised,” he said.
Okumu also told MPs that several development projects identified in the audit remain incomplete due to financial constraints.
He cited the Children’s Hospital, the School of Business and the Crystal Facility as some of the projects that have stalled because of inadequate funding and lack of government capitation.
The committee also questioned procurement practices highlighted in the audit, including the issuance of local purchase orders after delivery of goods and the use of expired purchase orders.
University procurement officials acknowledged the irregularities but said the current office holders were not in charge when the transactions occurred and that internal controls have since been strengthened.
The committee further resolved to summon former procurement officials who served during the period under investigation, with some lawmakers also proposing the appearance of former and current members of the University Council to clarify whether key projects received the necessary approvals before implementation.
Maungu said the committee intends to conclude the long-running inquiry within the current parliamentary term and pledged to establish individual responsibility before recommending further action.