21 staff members at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) were surprised to find Ksh54 million spread out in their personal bank accounts without notice.
A report on the Daily Nation revealed that one of the workers was so shocked upon checking his bank balance that he immediately turned to the school's council and reported himself/herself.
The staffer made it clear that he had not made any request or seen any vouchers explaining the source or purpose behind the money being deposited directly to the account.
This was what led the school's council to probe Vice-Chancellor Victoria Ngumi, whose personal account also reflected a significant chunk of the Ksh54 million.
A link was quickly established between the money and a project that the campus was contracted to carry out.
"I wrote to request urgent assistance from your office to undertake a forensic audit into the financial management projects undertaken by the Industrial Park Limited," reads an excerpt of a letter addressed to the Auditor-General's office from the JKUAT council.
On her part, VC Ngumi maintained that there was nothing to hide as the Ksh54 million could be explained.
"The payments were processed procedurally and followed due process. They were factored in the project budget from the very onset and were declared as a cost to the project," the VC explained.
Notably, the letter to the Auditor-General, explained that no payment vouchers were made out to the beneficiaries nor did any worker sign any kind of document acknowledging the payment.
University Council Chair and the VC have collided a number of times prior to the latest incident, with reports claiming that the relationship between the two has deteriorated
A report by The Standard revealed that the Chair re-appointed Prof Bernard Moirongo to take over as Deputy VC in charge of Finance against the VC's directive.
