Former West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin has denied reports by the Auditor General that Sh112 million were misappropriated during his tenure.
now the Energy ministry CAS, said he is ready to be investigated. He accused his successor, Governor John Lonyangapuo, of a witch-hunt.
During an interview in Kitale, Kachapin said the report showing that Sh112 million was withdrawn from the bank accounts of West Pokot county days to the 2017 General Election was misleading and lacked credibility.
The 'suspicious' withdrawals were made from various bank accounts in one month by finance officers in Kachapin’s administration.
The transactions were flagged by Auditor General Edward Ouko in his 2017-18 report.
It was the subject of a Senate oversight committee review last week as the lawmakers asked Lonyangapuo on how the cash was spent.
“How can more than Sh100 million be withdrawn from the county government accounts in cash and no explanation is provided on how it was spent?” Senate Public Accounts Committee chairman Moses Kajwang asked.
Schedules provided to the auditors for review show that money was withdrawn between July 4 and 30.
Lonyangapuo said his officers could not establish the purpose of the withdrawals since the cash books prepared did not record any corresponding payments.
“The cash books were poorly written without recognising any withdrawal of cash for office use as is the norm,” Lonyangapuo said.
According to the schedules, Sh1.5 million and Sh2 million were withdrawn on July 4 from two bank accounts — 1144889855 and 114891515, respectively — which are under the Agriculture and Finance and Economic Planning departments.
The following day, Sh13 million was withdrawn from account number 114891515 in the name of the same department.
The finance officers withdrew Sh1.7 million from two accounts on July 7.
About Sh4.3 million was withdrawn from the Agriculture and Irrigation and Roads and Works departments’ accounts on July 8.
The trend continued on July 9, when Sh2 million was withdrawn from the Roads and Works account.
On July 10, Sh10 million was withdrawn from the Operating Transport account. A similar amount was withdrawn from an account under Agriculture and Irrigation the following day.
A further Sh10 million was withdrawn from an account under the department of Education and ICT on July 12.
The report is false and malicious. Let them engage financial experts to look at the cash book and reconciliatory accounts and verify the facts.
On July 15, Sh1.5 million was withdrawn from an account under Health and Sanitation, while a Sh2 million transaction was made from Roads and Works account the following day.
Some Sh10 million was withdrawn from an account under the Tourism and Culture department on July 18, and Sh10 million from an account under the Lands and Physical Planning department on July 20.
On July 23, Sh7 million was withdrawn from the Health and Sanitation account before Sh15.5 million was withdrawn from the Operating Transport account the following day. On July 26, Sh1.5 million was withdrawn. A similar amount was withdrawn on July 30.
Lonyangapuo said he has since written to the EACC to conduct a forensic audit of the unexplained withdrawals.
“A forensic audit may be necessary for all withdrawals recorded as cash for the year 2016-17 and earlier financial years,” he said.
But Kachapin said the money in question was accounted for and blamed the current administration of giving false information and double accounting.
"The report is false and malicious. Let them engage financial experts to look at the cash book and reconciliatory accounts and verify the facts,” Kachapin said.
He termed it wrong for the current administration to politicise financial issues, adding he is ready to respond to any audit queries.
The former governor told Lonyangapuo to focus on services, not politics.
Kachapin alleged that some officers working in Lonyangapuo's administration lack professionalism and are not up to the task.
