My Take: Renewed attempt to oust the Auditor General through a petition to Parliament

Auditor General Edward Ouko {Photo: Standard}

My take is about the renewed attempt to oust the Auditor General through a petition to the National Assembly. This after he has been cleared by the Director of Public Prosecutions from any wrong doing.

Let me begin by making it abundantly clear that I do not hold brief for Mr Edward Ouko. But this latest development raises many issues that must now be pointed out. Let’s start with Parliament, the institution that has been itching to lay its hands on the Auditor General.

This will not be the first time the MPs are seeking to go after a watchdog body. This is the same institution which in 2011 paralysed the EACC by unceremoniously kicking out its commissioners.

Their only crime was that the chair at the time, PLO Lumumba claimed he had caught several MPs with their hands in the cookie jar.

The same house vetted the immediate former chair of the EACC Phillip Kinisu but failed to raise the so-called conflict of interest issues that later forced him out of office.

One could go on, but to be sure, many Kenyans now see this house as the biggest impediment to the fight against corruption.

It gets worse.  The National Assembly itself has not been spared from damning allegations of mega-corruption.

The number of scandals and the sheer amounts involved boggle the mind.

The agriculture committee members were alleged to have received sh60m in a probe of the Mumias sugar company. What of the alleged mileage scam, which has turned the house into a ‘millionaire’s club?’

Then, there is the mother of them all, in the PAC, no less. Sensational claims of billions of shillings that were to be shared out amongst the members of the watchdog committee? The claims and counter claims of the members read like a hollywood script, and proved the adage, that there is no honour amongst thieves.

What happened to the members of this committee? Slap on the wrist, if you ask me, they were merely suspended from the committee and barred from reappointment to the same committee. They are still in office. Still earning salaries. All they did was to apologise.

You see for MPs, it is that simple. Then there are the individual serious criminal charges against at least 12 members of parliament.

Remember the two MPs that walked into a toll station in Gilgil name dropping? Do you know the who I am syndrome? At least they are facing charges in court.

Folks, never have we seen a house ridden with so many scandals of integrity and accountability. But they are happy to audit everyone else.

They will be happy to drag the Auditor General through the mud, they will be elated to hang the new EACC chair Eliud Wabukala.

As a matter of fact they even want to censure a judge for merely giving rulings that some MPs don’t agree with. 

Before looking into the allegations against the Auditor General, perhaps the MPs would do well to remove the huge log in their own eyes – that way they will see that we are tired of being robbed by our elected representatives. And that is my take.