Embakasi East Member of Parliament, Babu Owino, has ignited a storm by calling for the impeachment of Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja, alleging gross misconduct and financial mismanagement.
Babu's demand comes hot on the heels of a scathing audit report released by the Auditor General's office, painting a picture of fiscal irregularities within the county.
Addressing journalists on Friday, April 5, Babu highlighted several concerning findings from the audit report for the year ending June 2023.
These findings included glaring anomalies in asset acquisition, ghost workers, pending bills, suspicious bank accounts, and unaccounted payments amounting to billions of shillings.
Governor Sakaja, in his State of the County address delivered just a day prior, painted a rosy picture of Nairobi's future, envisioning a city of order, dignity, hope, and opportunity. "We have lived up to that standard," Sakaja remarked, referring to an end to corruption and nepotism.
However, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu's report tells a different story.
It reveals over-expenditure, dubious payments, and suspect asset acquisition under the administration of Governor Sakaja. Irregular payments totalling Ksh17 million to 26 county workers, including basic pay, rental, house supplementation, and service gratuity, were flagged by the audit.
Furthermore, the report highlighted a failure to recover PAYE from the salaries of 393 officers as required by law, along with instances where employees were earning net salaries less than a third of their basic pay, contrary to established human resource policies.
Among the damning revelations was the violation of the Disability Act of 2003, with only 167 out of 13,354 county employees categorized as persons with disabilities, falling well below the recommended level of 5 per cent.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, in her report, expressed dissatisfaction with the financial statements of the Nairobi County Executive, stating they did not accurately represent the financial position of the county as of June 30, 2023.
"There is serious pilferage of funds in Nairobi County. There is serious defrauding of the hard-earned money for the Nairobians, and there is serious misrepresentation of funds," lamented Babu Owino.
The audit further revealed discrepancies in financial statements, inaccuracies in pending accounts and payables, and unsupported utilities, supplies, and services. Additionally, Governor Sakaja's failure to appear before the Senate Public Accounts and Investment Committee to address the queries raised by the Auditor General has drawn criticism.
Babu Owino has urged County Assembly members to take decisive action to safeguard public funds and ensure accountability in Nairobi County.
