Assembly recommends probe of State House Comptroller over Sh3.5 billion

The Nakuru County Assembly wants State House Comptroller Kinuthia Mbugua probed overuse of Sh3.5 billion during his tenure as governor.

The County Public Accounts and Investment Committee is seeking to have the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) investigate Mbugua for the alleged misappropriation of the funds during the 2015/16 fiscal year.

“The committee recommends that EACC investigates cases of suspected fraud, embezzlement, theft or misappropriation of public funds amounting to Sh3.5 billion. Mbugua should take administrative responsibility,” the committee's report reads in part.

The report tabled by PAIC chairperson Peter Kajwang follows a review of the Auditor General's scrutiny of the county's financial statements.

The report indicates that the county paid pending bills amounting to more than Sh1.5 billion to suppliers but provided no proof of the transactions.

“EACC should investigate this to ascertain the authenticity of the amount paid,” the report read.

It is further reported that while recording the pending accounts payable as at June 2016, the county overstated the amount by over Sh27.7 million.

During the period, the wage bill grew by Sh487.6 million to Sh4.9 billion, part of which is suspected to have been paid to ghost workers.