Treasury PS Kiptoo summoned over audit queries after missing 16 parliamentary invitations
The Committee said his repeated absences have hindered its oversight work on funds whose audit reports date as far back as the 2017/2018 financial year.
The National Assembly’s Special Funds Accounts Committee has summoned Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo to appear before it on November 4, 2025, after failing to honour 16 consecutive invitations to respond to audit queries on 14 public funds under his ministry.
The Committee said his repeated absences have hindered its oversight work on funds whose audit reports date as far back as the 2017/2018 financial year.
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“The Principal Secretary, National Treasury, has failed to appear before the Committee that oversights funds under your purview 16 times,” Committee Vice Chairperson and session chair Rahim Dawood said.
The Committee had invited Kiptoo to explain audit concerns linked to 14 funds, including the Equalisation Fund, Petroleum Development Levy Fund, European Widows and Orphans Pensions Fund, and the Credit Guarantee Scheme. Despite sixteen formal invitations spanning from March 2023 to October 2025, the PS consistently failed to appear, often providing reasons deemed unsatisfactory by the Committee.
During Wednesday’s session, two directors from the National Treasury and the CEO of the Equalisation Fund appeared before the Committee, accompanied by other officials. When asked to explain the PS’s absence, they said Kiptoo was on official duty in Washington, D.C.
Dawood read out all 16 dates of the PS’s non-attendance, describing the repeated absences as “a clear act of disregard” for the oversight authority of Parliament.
Mbooni MP Erastus Kivasu echoed the sentiment, criticising the PS’s continuous absence and lack of communication.
The session chair cited Standing Order 191, which grants Committees the power to summon any person to give evidence before the House. He further invoked Section 191(A), noting that the National Assembly may impose fines not exceeding Sh500,000 on any person who fails to comply with a summons.
According to a table presented to Members, the PS oversees 14 key funds, all of which have pending audit backlogs. Dawood revealed that out of 50 funds scrutinised by the Committee, 14 under the National Treasury remain outstanding due to the PS’s absence.
Members resolved that the PS must personally appear before the Committee, emphasising that continued non-compliance undermines the National Assembly’s constitutional mandate to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of public resources.
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