Th e Kilifi assembly has suspended
business to concentrate on alleged corruption
and irregular spending within
the county government.
Assembly speaker Jimmy Kahindi
on Friday said the recent allegations
involving county officials calls for special
attention.
Taking centre stage will be the reported
loss of Sh51 million from the
county government account and the
Education department’s unspent
Sh1.2 billion meant for 206 modern
ECDE centres.
Kahindi said the assembly will from
yesterday concentrate on unravelling
the mystery rocking the county.
The money was allegedly siphoned
from the Kilifi county main account
at the Central Bank of Kenya through
the Integrated Financial Management
System and internet banking.
“We have agreed as a House that
from Monday [yesterday] only committees
will be sitting to interrogate
and investigate the theft of more than
Sh51 million from the county government.
We will also sit and make a
report on the Education department,
which has been accused of delaying
projects.” The speaker said no stone
will be left unturned.
The suspension of House business
comes amid uproar from the public,
blaming the assembly for doing nothing the rivalry between Mombasa woman
representative Mishi Mboko and former
Likoni MP Suleiman Shakombo
played out on Saturday as their booing
and jeering supporters nearly stopped
a fundraiser.
Their supporters tried to outdo each
other in a shouting match, disrupting
the event and forcing Mombasa Governor
Hassan Joho to intervene.
The two political rivals were attending
a fundraiser in aid of Onagi Youth
Group at Ujamaa playing ground in
Likoni.
Both are eyeing the Likoni MP seat
on the ODM ticket.
A similar confrontation between
Mboko and Shakombo took place two
months ago at a funds drive at Mtongwe
Girls Secondary School, Likoni
constituency.
Shakombo had to plead with Mboko
Mboko, Shakombo’s
backers in shout fest
to be allowed to speak about projects
he had initiated in Likoni.
He was jeered and booed by the
crowd, but he decided to put up a
brave face throughout his speech.
Top ODM officials are said to have
endorsed Mboko for the Likoni seat at
the discomfort of Shakombo and his
distraught followers.
ODM director of election and SunaEast
MP Junet Mohamed has said
Mboko is the party’s choice.
He dismissed Shakombo and branded
him a “council of elder”.
But even as the director of elections
assured Mboko of party’s support to
clinch the party nominations and the
seat, Joho said fair primaries must be
conducted.
Mboko, however, told Shakombo to
stop being a “joyrider” on functions
she has organised.
“I will not support Shakombo’s bid
to reclaim the seat because he is not
sincere.”
Thing as the county loses millions of shillings
in dubious dealings.
Today, the assembly committee of
the whole house chaired by the speaker
will question 10 officials suspended
after their passwords were used in irregularities
involving Sh51 million.
“We have 23 committees, which
have been carrying out various investigations
in different departments. We
want to give them time to make their
reports and table them. From Thursday
to Saturday the Committee on
Education will make its report on the
investigations over the unspent Sh1.2
billion in the Education department,”
Kahindi said.
The report will be tabled on Monday
or Tuesday next week, he aid.
During last week’s sitting, the assembly
expressed fears that more cash
could have been lost.
“It is shocking that a company gets
a tender to build a classroom but the
money is paid to a totally different
company. This is laxity from the Finance
department, we must have it
streamlined or we will continue losing
money,” Jilore MCA Daniel Chai said.
The assembly is also expected to
summon managers of banks where
the money was wired and withdrawn
without their raising an alarm.
“ This could be a big chain, because
there must be someone who physically
walked into the bank to withdraw
the money. The law says you cannot
walk into a bank and withdraw more
than Sh1 million without the bank
raising the red flag,” Kahindi said.