Former Kenyatta University Vice Chancellors Prof Olive Mugenda and Prof Paul Wainaina have been summoned by Members of Parliament over the alleged loss of funds amounting to Sh6.2 billion and other financial management concerns at the institution.
The two former university chiefs are expected to appear before the National Assembly Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education, which is examining Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s special audit report covering the 2018/2019 to 2020/2021 financial years.
The report also contains audit queries dating back to the 2014/2015 to 2016/2017 financial years.
The committee, chaired by Luanda MP Dick Maungu, resolved to summon the former vice chancellors after members said Acting Vice Chancellor Prof John Okumu could not adequately respond to matters relating to decisions made before he assumed office.
The MPs said officials who served as accounting officers during the period under review must appear before the committee to explain issues raised in the audit report.
“The issues being tackled relate to 2014/2015 onwards, and it would be unfair to expect the current acting Vice Chancellor to answer for matters he neither handled nor has institutional memory of,” Maungu said.
The committee chairperson warned that individuals found responsible for misuse of public resources would face tough recommendations after the conclusion of the inquiry.
“We have seen what appears to be massive looting of public funds and inappropriate conduct. Those responsible must be held to account because we cannot allow public property to be misused or looted,” he said.
Narok Woman Representative Rebecca Tonkei supported the decision to summon Prof Mugenda and Prof Wainaina, saying the funds under investigation required explanations from those who were in charge at the time.
“We are dealing with over Sh6 billion. This is not petty cash. Professor Mugenda and Professor Wainaina must appear before this committee and explain where this money went,” she said.
Central Imenti MP Moses Kirima also backed the summons, raising concerns over the expenditure on Kenyatta University’s Kigali campus.
Kirima questioned the spending of more than Sh300 million on the project, saying investigators found little value for money during an earlier parliamentary inspection visit.
Kasipul MP Boyd Were said the committee would not complete its inquiry without hearing from officials who approved the questioned expenditures.
He cited audit concerns, including unsupported expenditure, overpayments and the establishment of the Kigali campus before receiving the required approvals.
Appearing before the committee, Prof Okumu agreed that several issues raised in the audit happened before he became Acting CS and said his predecessors were better placed to provide answers.
“The members are correct. Some issues were handled by the chief executive officers of the day, and my former bosses would be in a better position to respond to most of the matters raised,” he said.
Prof Okumu further told MPs that some development projects highlighted in the audit remain incomplete due to financial challenges facing the university.
He said projects such as the Children’s Hospital, the School of Business and the Crystal Facility had recorded little or no progress since the audit period.
According to Prof Okumu, the university has faced serious financial difficulties, including a lack of government capitation for some projects.
The committee also raised questions over procurement concerns highlighted in the audit report, including the issuance of local purchase orders after delivery of goods and the use of expired purchase orders.
The university’s procurement office admitted that the irregularities occurred but said the current officials were not in office when the transactions happened.
The procurement officer told MPs that the university had since improved internal controls to prevent similar issues from happening again.
The committee also resolved to summon former procurement officials who served during the period under investigation, alongside the former vice chancellors.
Some MPs proposed that former and current members of the University Council should also appear before the committee to clarify whether key projects, including the Kigali campus, received the necessary approvals before they were implemented.
Maungu said the committee intends to complete the long-running Kenyatta University inquiry during the current Parliament.
He added that the committee would hold several hearings to establish individual responsibility before making recommendations for further action.
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