The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has broken its silence after reports that some school principals were allegedly asked to pay up to Ksh1.5 million during the ongoing school audit.
The response came after The Standard and KTN reported that individuals linked to the school audit process approached some school heads and demanded large sums of money.
According to the reports, principals claimed the demands ranged between Ksh400,000 and Ksh1.5 million, with the amounts allegedly depending on the nature of the audit and the school involved.
Auditor General Responds to Allegations Against Staff Auditing Kenyan Schools
In a media statement released on Wednesday, September 24, 2026, the Auditor General, Nancy Gathungu, said she had taken the allegations concerning her office staff seriously.
“ In performing our role, we are guided by integrity, credibility, relevance, accountability and independence. We therefore treat the allegations on the integrity of our staff with utmost seriousness,” the office said.
The Auditor General said the office has internal mechanisms for handling concerns about employee conduct and urged anyone with complaints to report them through the available channels.
The office also directed those with allegations of misconduct to relevant investigative agencies.
“In addition, any alleged misconduct should also be reported to the relevant investigative agencies including the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission,” the statement said.
Gathungu did not specifically confirm or deny the reported demands for money but defended the ongoing school audit process and its constitutional mandate to examine the use of public resources.
The office said it began auditing schools as an independent external auditor during the 2022/2023 financial year.
Since then, it said the audits have raised concerns about financial records, school funding, enrolment records, expenditure management, risk management, and compliance with laws and regulations.
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Nancy Gathungu Urges School Heads to Respond to Audit Findings
The office urged school heads to respond to the findings contained in its audit reports instead of shifting attention away from the issues identified.
“These issues have prominently formed public discourse after Parliament commenced discussions on the audit reports of schools, three weeks ago,” the Auditor-General said.
“We, therefore, urge the School Heads to respond to the audit findings in our reports, as other public entities have been doing.”
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At the same time, OAG said addressing the findings would help schools improve the management of their finances and other public resources.
It further maintained that all public entities are subject to accountability and transparency requirements when handling public funds.
The Auditor General’s mandate is provided under Article 229 of the Constitution, which gives the office responsibility for auditing and reporting on the use and management of public resources to Parliament and county assemblies.
It also cited a High Court judgment delivered on January 26, 2022, in Petition No. 33 of 2019, which it said reaffirmed that public funds transferred to private entities remain subject to audit.
The office said it would continue offering advisory audit services to public entities while examining their internal controls, compliance with laws and regulations, and financial record-keeping.
This comes as Parliament continues examining audit reports on schools and questions surrounding the management of public funds in the education sector.
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