Auditor General Edward Ouko reads mischief in removal petition

Auditor General Edward Ouko. (Photo: Boniface Okendo/Standard)

Auditor General Edward Ouko Tuesday termed a petition seeking his removal from office a witch hunt designed to hound him out.

Mr Ouko, who appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Trade and Finance for grilling, claimed there was malice in the petition, which among other issues accuses him of presiding over procurement malpractices and failing to submit yearly reports to Parliament and the President as contemplated in the Constitution.

The Auditor General is also accused of wasting public funds by accumulating a Sh1 million phone bill on his iPad while he was abroad, and allocating some of his official cars to his wife and daughter.

"I'm at peace with this petition because it is a malicious witch hunt," Ouko told the committee in a session marked by acrimony, as the petitioner, Emmanuel Mwagonah, sought to prove the allegations.

Mr Mwagona, a lawyer, told the committee the petition arose out of materials used in a case dismissed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for lack of evidence.