• The office incurred a total actual expenditure of Sh2,220,497,090 against an approved budget of Sh2,966,776,000 resulting in under expenditure of Sh746,278,910
• More investigation files are said to be pending on the DPP’s desk because of a shortage of prosecutors to scrutinise them
Prosecution of graft and other key cases suffered significantly after the National Treasury failed to remit Sh744 million to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions during the 2018-19 financial year.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu's report tabled in Parliament last week shows that out of the ODDP’s annual budget of Sh2.96 billion, the Treasury released just Sh2.23 billion as at June 30, 2019.
As such, the office was not able to efficiently handle corruption and other mega cases including murder in courts.
“Similarly, the office incurred a total actual expenditure of Sh2,220,497,090 against an approved budget of Sh2,966,776,000 resulting in under expenditure of Sh746,278,910,” reads the report.
The underfunding accounted for 25 per cent of the Noordin Haji-led office budget during the year under review.
“The budget underfunding may have negatively affected the ability of the office to effectively deliver on its mandate,” Gathungu said.
The office deals with a wide range of cases, from minor offences to serious ones like murder and graft committed by top national and county government officials.
More investigation files are said to be pending on the DPP’s desk because of the shortage of prosecutors to scrutinise them.
Haji has in the past decried budgetary constraints and shortage of prosecutors and other support staff that he says hampers the faster scrutiny and clearance of files.
The report shows the ODPP incurred pending bills amounting to Sh279.88 million owing to the underfunding. Gathungu warned the bills could affect subsequent allocations.
“The bills were not paid during the year but were instead carried forward to 2019-20 financial year. Failure to settle bills in the year to which they relate adversely affects the subsequent year’s provisions since the bills form the first charge to that year’s budget provisions,” Gathungu said.
The ODPP has been a beehive of activity in the wake of the renewed war on graft. Former Cabinet Secretaries, governors and other top public officers are currently fighting graft and murder charges after Haji sanctioned their prosecution.
They included former Treasury CS Henry Rotich and ex-PS Kamau Thuge who were charged with corruption over the Arrow and Kimwarer dams scandal.
Governors Okoth Obado (Migori), Moses Lenolkulal (Samburu), Mike Sonko (Nairobi), Ali Korane (Garissa), Sospeter Ojaamong (Busia) and Muthomi Njuki (Tharaka Nithi) are all fighting corruption charges.
Ex-county chiefs Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu) and Evans Kidero (Nairobi) are also in court on similar charges.
Obado is also facing murder charges after he was arraigned for the killing of his then pregnant girlfriend Sharon Otieno in 2018.