Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Ny’ong’o was on Tuesday sent away by a Senate watchdog committee for failing to adequately respond to audit queries.
Ny’ong’o was before the County Public Accounts and Investment Committee over audit queries raised by the Auditor General on the expenditures of the county for financial years 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The governor found himself in trouble after the committee established that some of the queries had not been responded to.
The committee said responses were ‘disorderly’ and concluded that the governor, was ill-prepared.
“We don’t have the responses to the audit queries raised by the Auditor General. As such, we cannot proceed to listen to you governor,” Migori Senator Ochilo Ayacko, who chaired the session, ruled.
Nyong'o chaired the Senate committee when he represented Kisumu county in the House before the 2017 general elections.
“We will only do so when you have the responses to every query raised in the three financial years," Ayacko said.
The committee took a swipe at the governor for taking them for a ride, lamenting that he was breaking the bar he had set during his tenure as the chairman of the committee.
“It is surprising that we are not benefitting from the best practice. It is like the responses you have brought here, you have never gone through them. I take great exception,” Taita Taveta Senator Johanness Mwaruma said.
But Nyong’o defended himself and his administration, saying the responses are the same submitted last year.
“I will be the last person to undermine devolution and oversight. We may not have responded to some queries but it is not that the responses are not there. We will provide them,” he said.
Kisumu finance chief officer Akaka Ramoya said the change of top finance officers was partly to blame for the confusion as the new officers could not immediately get some of the documents.
But the senators dismissed the responses and sent the governor and his team away.
“If you had two years to file responses with the Auditor General and you have not done it, do you mean you want to go and cook documents?” Narok Senator Ledama Olekina asked.
Kisumu Senator Fred Outa (the governor’s political nemesis) accused Nyong'o of being ‘mischievous’ even as he pushed for the governor to be surcharged for taking the committee’s time for a ride.
“This is the second time the governor of Kisumu is appearing before Senate unprepared. We should not take it lightly; we should apply our standing orders and impose a fine,” Outa said.
“Some queries raised in the audit report are so grave and we want to hear the governor, what he has to say. They are making payments to some law firm when the matter is still active with EACC. This should not happen,” he added.
