The Speaker
Kenya National Assembly
Parliament Buildings
Nairobi Wednesday, 25th February, 2015
Mr. Speaker,
Kenya National Assembly
Parliament Buildings
Nairobi Wednesday, 25th February, 2015
Mr. Speaker,
RE: INTEGRITY AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN
THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE (PAC)
On Wednesday, 18th February, 2015,
in your chambers, I briefed you at length on the happenings in the Public
Accounts Committee (PAC), which have pretty much crippled operations of this
key Committee. Among the measures you and I agreed on was that the Ethics and
Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) be invited to investigate allegations of
impropriety attributed to some members of the Committee. You subsequently
attended a meeting of the Committee that same day, where a section of the
members vehemently opposed my motion to call in the EACC.
In view of the very loose, unhelpful
and manifestly speculative dimension this matter has since taken, am obliged to
put on record the gist of the issues discussed with you at the said 18th
February meeting, together with further details that have since emerged.
From the outset, let me reiterate my
already stated view that the issues here are weighty and deserve substantive
attention; but the issues now unfortunately run the risk of being clouded by
partisan politics and self-serving pontificating. The issues primarily revolve
around three investigations by the Committee, namely:
1. Confidential Expenditure under
the 2012/13 annual audited accounts of government;
2. Inquiry into diverse transactions by the Judiciary; and
3. Inquiry into procurement of five sets of electoral equipment by the IEBC in the run up to the 2013 General Elections.
Let me enumerate here four key issues emanating from these three investigations that have come to my knowledge, and which touch on both ethics and integrity of the Committee:
2. Inquiry into diverse transactions by the Judiciary; and
3. Inquiry into procurement of five sets of electoral equipment by the IEBC in the run up to the 2013 General Elections.
Let me enumerate here four key issues emanating from these three investigations that have come to my knowledge, and which touch on both ethics and integrity of the Committee:
1. FAILED CONSPIRACY TO SAVE MR. MUTEA
IRINGO ON KSHS 2.9 BILLION “CONFIDENTIAL” EXPENDITURE
I have reliably gathered that even
as a majority of us in the Committee worked overtime to clear the 3-year
backlog of audited accounts, some members of the Committee were apparently busy
engaging persons under investigation with the motive of soliciting for and/or
receiving favours to improperly influence findings of the Committee.
I have it on record that Defence PS,
Mr. Mutea Iringo, met four members of the Committee at Silver Springs Hotel for
this purpose. They were Hon Omondi Anyanga, Hon James Bett, Hon Abbas Ahmed and
Hon Samuel Arama. At the meeting, it was agreed that Mr. Iringo would provide
money and facilitate business opportunities at the Department of Defence (DoD).
At least Kshs 1.5 million is confirmed to have been collected in cash from Mr.
Iringo by Hon Anyanga, who shared with the members named hereinabove, together
with Hon Kareke Mbiuki and Hon Cecily Mbarire. I was to be strictly kept in the
dark, because I am not “flexible”.
The assignment for these members was
to ensure that anything adverse to Mr. Iringo would be expunged from the
Committee’s final report. This, however, was not achieved. Mr. Iringo is
reportedly upset that he paid for a service not rendered, a fact that has left
the involved members quite shaken, and upset with me for firmly protecting the
integrity of the report, which returned a damning verdict on the PSs in office
when the questionable Kshs 2.9 billion expenditure was undertaken.
A recorded audio confession in my
possession, and phone records of the named members, especially Hon Bett and Hon
Anyanga, easily and unequivocally confirm the liaison between Mr. Iringo and
the named members. The findings and recommendations in the final report tabled
in the House in December, 2014 by myself on behalf of the Committee confirm
that this scheme failed, to the chagrin of the plotters.
2. REPORTED BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS IN
RESPECT OF THE JUDICIARY INQUIRY
At a sitting of the Committee held on Tuesday, February 17th, 2014, the Committee Vice-Chair, Hon Cecily Mbarire tabled the February edition of the Nairobi Law Monthly (NLM), which had published allegations of bribery. The story, on page 17 of the magazine, reported that bribes linked to the former Judiciary Chief Registrar, Mrs. Gladys Boss Shollei, had been conveyed to some members of the Committee through “a vocal female MP from Eastern…known for corrupt dealings”. The last tranche of the bribe loot was reportedly Kshs 4 million collected by this member to be shared with others.
At a sitting of the Committee held on Tuesday, February 17th, 2014, the Committee Vice-Chair, Hon Cecily Mbarire tabled the February edition of the Nairobi Law Monthly (NLM), which had published allegations of bribery. The story, on page 17 of the magazine, reported that bribes linked to the former Judiciary Chief Registrar, Mrs. Gladys Boss Shollei, had been conveyed to some members of the Committee through “a vocal female MP from Eastern…known for corrupt dealings”. The last tranche of the bribe loot was reportedly Kshs 4 million collected by this member to be shared with others.
Hon Mbarire submitted that this
inference pointed to her. She further claimed that she had reliable information
that this story had been leaked by myself to Mr. Ahmednasir Abdullahi, the NLM
publisher. After defending myself against this allegation, Hon Mbarire withdrew
her accusation. But the serious bribery allegations published in the respected
Nairobi Law Monthly remains on the Committee record.
Curiously, my motion to invite the
publisher of the Nairobi Law Monthly to shed more light on this matter before
the Committee was strongly opposed by Hon Mbarire. Tellingly, in her
opposition, Hon Mbarire was stridently supported by Hon Anyanga, Hon Abbas and
Hon Bett.
How this initial allegation against
Hon Mbarire swiftly mutated to a full-blown accusation of impropriety against
myself was the masterstroke in the grand conspiracy to save Hon Mbarire from
published allegations, by casually dropping false accusations against me in a
cynical, careless unsubstantiated manner that grossly violated Standing Orders
of the House.
This matter is alive and cannot be
wished away. Whatever political games are played, we must get to the root of
the matter.
3. ATTEMPT TO PROCURE IMPROPER
FAVOURS FROM A SUBJECT OF INQUIRY IN HYDERABAD, INDIA
In December, 2014, I led a
delegation of six (6) members of the Committee and two clerks to India on the
final leg of our preliminary inquiry into the five IEBC transactions. The
members, besides myself, were Hon John Sakwa Bunyasi, Hon Jessica Mbalu, Hon
Kyengo Katatha Maweu, Hon Omondi Anyanga, Hon James Bett and Hon Gonzi Rai.
Logistics for our stay in New Delhi were made by the Kenyan High Commission.
When we transferred to Hyderabad, we
were received by officials of 4G Identity Solutions, the Indian firm at the
heart of our inquiry. As leader of delegation, it came to me as a shattering
shock when Hon Anyanga demanded that the delegation accepts favours from 4G
Identity Solutions, specifically payment of hotel bills, meals and local
travel. I flatly rejected this on ethical grounds, and got the hotel to cancel
a bills payment arrangement they had already made with 4G. Apparently, this did
not go down well.
Hon Omondi Anyanga was particularly
upset with me, for rejecting what he described as the “common practice
everywhere we travel”. Hon John Sakwa Bunyasi, other honest members of the
delegation, 4G Identity Solutions, and TRIDENT Hotel, Hyderabad can all
corroborate this information.
To be fair, the rest of the
delegation accepted my verdict, except Hon Anyanga. He has never stopped
hounding me over this incident. As recently as two days ago, Hon Anyanga told
me this “rigid principles” is one of the reasons some members have a problem
with me. Indeed this “rigid” narrative of Hon Anyanga is consistent with
subsequent evidence that has emerged as this saga has unfolded.
In my recorded evidence in respect
of the confidential expenditure, a member clearly says the bribery schemers
could not involve me because I was too rigid and would not accept to play ball.
4. INTERFERENCE IN INVESTIGATIONS BY
COMMITTEE CLERK, MR. GEORGE GEZEMBA
The full picture of the integrity
crisis in PAC, and the National Assembly by extension, would not be complete
without paying attention to the serious crisis in the committee clerking
services. As PAC chair, I have on numerous occasions complained to the Director
of Committee Services, Mrs. Florence Abonyo, over the conduct of one
particularly notorious clerk, Mr. George Gezemba, who, quite unfortunately
clerked PAC for about three years.
My complaints touched on Mr.
Gezemba’s questionable integrity, poor work ethic, indolence, incompetence and
disrespectful demeanour. After myriad complaints from myself and other members,
I literally threw out Mr. Gezemba from a Committee retreat in Kisumu last
December that was to discuss the draft report of the Judiciary inquiry. I duly
briefed the Director of Committees, who finally withdrew Mr. Gezemba from PAC
and replaced him with Mr. Mutunga.
Among the serious breaches of
integrity and ethics by Mr. Gezemba include:
1. Disappearance of supporting
documents submitted by auditors and witnesses. While concluding the report on
Confidential Expenditure and Housing Units for police, some key documents
tabled by lead Auditor, Mr. Esau Ndeda just vanished. We had to desperately fly
Mr. Ndeda to Mombasa to fill in gaps. We also made frantic efforts to have the
Director of Committee Services dispatch to us raw electronic recording of
Committee proceedings in our desperation to salvage critical evidence that
appeared to have been deliberately “lost” by Mr. Gezemba.
2. Mr. Gezemba also deliberately
drafted the Judiciary report in a manner suspiciously intended to favour a key
person under investigation. On three occasions, I personally led the Committee
to see that his drafts were grossly at variance with evidence and testimonies
rendered to the Committee. These mischievous yet dangerous games by Mr. Gezemba
seriously compromised the pace of the key Judiciary inquiry, as two report
writing retreats aborted because of doctored reports that I found unacceptable.
These are among the key reasons why I insisted Mr. Gezemba be removed from the
Committee.
PAC TAKEN HOSTAGE BY MULTIPLE
INTERESTS AND FORCES
I submit that the crucial Public
Accounts Committee (PAC) has been taken hostage by five distinct interests:
1. Independent Electoral and
Boundaries Commission (IEBC):
This week PAC was scheduled to
commence open hearings on procurement of 5 sets of equipment used in the 2013
general elections. Chairman Mr. Isaack Hassan was listed as the first witness
to appear before the Committee, to testify based on a special audit report
prepared for PAC by the Auditor General and reports of independent preliminary
inquiries conducted by the Committee.
For some reasons, IEBC-linked
interests are scared dead of having me in the chair as we commence this crucial
process. They have hatched a plot to remove me and install a puppet chair that
would cause them no “headache”. Their choice is Ijara MP, Hon Ahmed Abbas, and
for obvious reasons. Majority Leader Aden Duale is reportedly at the heart of
this conspiracy.
2. The Judiciary
The eruption of this saga was
triggered by the Judiciary inquiry. Among the key Committee agenda for the week
commencing February 16th, 2015 was to conclude the long-delayed report on
expenditure impropriety in the Judiciary. With past games played by clerk
George Gezemba in respect of draft reports, and the posturing of some members
over this matter, it is certain that some very powerful forces are hell-bent on
influencing the report in a particular direction. Those forces obviously do not
trust I will play ball with them.
3. Office of the President (OP)
President Uhuru Kenyatta is on
record for admitting that corruption is endemic in government, with its
tentacles firmly anchored at OP. The PAC report on government’s 2012/13
accounts clearly demonstrates this, particularly through the Committee’s exposé
on the so called “Confidential Expenditure”. The Lords of graft and impunity
have been shaken to the bone marrow by this exposure, which is the first time
ever. Their panic is further manifest in efforts to tie the hands of the
Auditor General through the Audit Bill 2014, whose shamefully unconstitutional
provisions like clause 40 are tailor made to protect their theft from ever
again being audited and scrutinised by PAC. This matter gets murkier by
revelations that OP mandarins, through PS Mutea Iringo, bribed some members of
the Committee to influence the PAC report. That their evil scheme failed has upset
them. They have now brought pressure to bear on their marionettes in the
Committee. Who in turn must remove me to demonstrate that they have dealt with
the “obstacle”.
4. Jubilee and ODM/CORD political
intrigues.
Internal ODM/CORD feuds and
supremacy wars have somehow found a perfect point of confluence with Jubilee
interests of killing oversight in the National Assembly. The result is a
crippled PAC with irreparably damaged public image.
5. Systemic institutional weaknesses
in the Kenya National Assembly
The conduct of clerk George Gezemba
could be a microcosm of a deep-sited institutional crisis that has serious
implications on integrity and ethical image of the National Assembly. It is
also important to interrogate how PAC’s “Hustler” Jet Report, concluded and
tabled in the House by myself on April 24th, 2014 has never been balloted by
the House Business Committee for debate – a whole year since tabling. This is
unprecedented. Majority Leader Hon Aden Duale has reportedly vowed that the
“Hustler” Jet Report will never be debated, because it touched on his boss. I
have complained countless times – on the floor of the House, to the Hon
Speaker, to Hon Duale, and to the House Business Committee, to no avail. What
kind of brinkmanship and impunity is this? What forces exactly control
operations of the National Assembly? Who is this that can so casually and
cynically decide to trash House rules and traditions with such abandon?
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, my submission is that
I am a victim of the classical case of the vampire of corruption fighting back
viciously. Indeed it’s quite ironical that it is me, the victim, the one known
by members as inflexibly principled, that is in the dock. It feels like the
trial of a lamb in the court of a pack of wolves with blood dripping from their
murderous paws.
I am proud of my performance as PAC
Chairman. In less than two years, under my stewardship, the Committee performed
the unprecedented miracle of clearing a backlog of audited accounts going back
five years. Besides five reports on audited accounts (our core mandate) tabled
in a single calendar year (a first in the history of Parliament), we also
successfully concluded the “Hustler’s Jet” inquiry. Curiously, though, the
House leadership has stubbornly thwarted my efforts to have the “Hustler’s Jet”
Report debated by the House, since I tabled it a year ago on April 24th, 2014.
The Committee is also at a very advanced stage in the inquiry into the IEBC and
Judiciary.
These impressive achievements have
come against the difficult backdrop of political intrigues and selfish personal
interests.
I implore you, Mr. Speaker, to use
PAC as an example to tackle head-on the integrity and ethical issues enveloping
the Kenya National Assembly. Am ready and willing to collaborate with the EACC
and other agencies in this respect.
Thank You,
Hon.Ababu Namwamba,EGH, MP.
Hon.Ababu Namwamba,EGH, MP.
“Though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil…” Psalms 23:4
I shall fear no evil…” Psalms 23:4
Cc. 1. Ethics and Anti-Corruption
Commission (EACC) 2. Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
Post script: It should be pretty easy to track the trail of anyone compromised to influence the outcome of a committee investigation. An audit of the evidence and testimonies vis-a-vis the findings and recommendations should clearly show a disconnect.
Post script: It should be pretty easy to track the trail of anyone compromised to influence the outcome of a committee investigation. An audit of the evidence and testimonies vis-a-vis the findings and recommendations should clearly show a disconnect.
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