Auditor General Nancy Gathungu is facing allegations of malpractice raised by a section of her staff.

In a statement on November 19, the National Assembly Committee on Cohesion and Equal Opportunities said it will conduct an inquiry to establish whether claims such as abuse of office, corruption, tribalism, favoritism and mismanagement of the Office of the Auditor General were true.

During the session Chaired by Kasipul MP Charles Were, the Members of Parliament (MPs) said the claims were raised by a section of the staff at the Auditor General’s Office.

The MPs resolved that the allegations were grievous and can only be investigated through an inquiry.

“The Committee has received a petition from the staff protesting over alleged multi practices in the office and are seeking our intervention,” Were said.

Were explained that the petitions should be presented to the Public Petitions Committee for thorough scrutiny.

According to the Committee, the staff in the office who sought anonymity said that the cases of corruption, abuse of office, tribalism, favoritism in training and talent development and hostile environment were rampant.

Additionally, they said some of them are subjected to suffering, mental torture and affected cohesiveness in the Office.

“Over 200 staff members allegedly possess fake qualifications, including Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certificates and no action has been taken against them,” the report by the staff reads in part.

Commitee Ruling 

However, the Committee ruled that their complaints did not meet the threshold required for the Committee’s intervention.

The team noted that petitions were domiciled in the Petitions Committee.

MP Dismisses Report

Nyeri Town MP Duncan Mathenge said the Committee will not act on allegation in a report by anonymous authors.

“The law is very clear. Petitions or complains delivered to the National Assembly must contain details of the authors such as names and signatures among others,” Mathenge said.

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Committee Asked to be Careful While Handling Allegations at the Office of the Auditor General

Kamukunji MP Abdi Yusuf Hassan asked the Committee to tread carefully while handling the matter.

He added that what was going on in the Office of the Auditor General was internal wars occasioned by the change of leadership at the helm.

“The Committee needs to be careful while handling the matter. We should be objective and professional to avoid taking a direction that might amount to undermining the office,” he cautioned.

He further pointed out that cases of internal squabbles in State departments following changes at the leadership were rampant.

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Other MPs Support Inquiry

Shinyalu MP Fred Ikana and his Mwingi North counterpart Paul Nzengu supported the inquiry route, noting that it was the best way to dig deep into the matter.

“The Committee has the capacity to conduct a thorough inquiry into allegations by the staff with a view of resolving the matter for smooth running of the office,” Ikana said.

Mandera West MP Adan Haji said an inquiry would unravel misdeeds in the office of the Auditor General as alleged by the staff or clear the office off the allegations.

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