President Uhuru Kenyatta's Chief of Staff Joseph Kinyua is in trouble following new revelations into the Sh5 Billion scandal at the Ministry of Health.
According to the final interim audit report tabled in Parliament, Kinyua is said to have ordered for payment of S400 Million to suppliers in different hospitals, despite lacking the authority to do so.
The report revealed that the Chief of Staff ordered the Ministry to pay Sh200 Million for consultancy at Nanyuki County Hospital instead of transferring the money to the facility for it to pay its own contractors.
The audit prepared by Bernard Muchere further raised a red flag on why contractors renovating Lamu and Bungoma County Hospitals each received Sh100 Million for the work, with the order coming directly from Kenyatta's aide.
Muchere faulted the payments to the contractors terming them unprocedural since the money was supposed to be wired to the specific hospitals where the expenses were incurred but not paid directly from the Ministry.
“Verification of vote books shows that the ministry paid suppliers directly on behalf of Nanyuki County Hospital. The directives were communicated to the Ministry by the Chief of State,” the report was quoted by Business Daily.
Auditor Muchere told Parliament that a deeper investigation should be conducted to ascertain the amount of money lost in improper payments at the Ministry.
Kinyua has now been faulted for giving the direct orders since the Constitution only gives the Controller of Budget the mandate to authorise usage of public funds.
Muchere was appearing before the Chamber to shed more light as investigations into alleged loss of billions at Afya House continue.
