• Kirwa on Wednesday stated that a tribunal will help in establishing whether some of the accusations leveled against Nyakang'o are true or not.
• On Tuesday, the CoB was charged at a Mombasa court with multiple counts of fraud, false pretence, and operating a Sacco without a license.
Image: FILE
President William Ruto has been challenged to form a tribunal to investigate the accusation against Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o.
Former United Democratic Alliance vice chairman Kipruto Kirwa on Wednesday stated that a tribunal will help in establishing whether some of the accusations levelled against Nyakang'o are true or not.
"If they are serious allegations against an officer whose tenure of office is provided for in the Constitution, all these recommendations should have ended up with the president forming a tribunal. That was not done," he said on K24.
"Let the president have the courage to form a tribunal against her and those who are taking her to court should have also done due diligence to confirm whether she was a member or not."
On Tuesday, the CoB was charged at a Mombasa court with multiple counts of fraud, false pretence, and operating a Sacco without a license.
While appearing before Mombasa Law Court Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku, Nyakang'o denied all charges and was released on a Sh2 million bond with a similar surety, or an alternative cash bail of Sh500,000.
The said charges are connected to a complaint made against her and 10 other people in 2016.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) approved the charges in a letter to the DCI on November 30.
Still, on Nyakang'o, Kirwa explained that the office of the controller of budget needs to be protected regardless of whether Nyakang'o is performing well or not.
He stated that for people whose offices are protected by the Constitution, there are due processes to be followed to kick them out of office.
"We need to protect the officers that are protected by law because the President today is equal protect us. Somebody cannot just ambush him and go to State House in the morning and take him to court. There is a due process of impeachment, and so forth," Kirwa explained.
Nyakang’o, who took office in June 2020, has been boldly calling out the government.
While making her submissions before the National Dialogue Committee last month, Nyakang'o revealed that treasury officials inflated her salary budget three times, contrary to what she is paid.
The CoB also recently warned of the government’s potential inability to render crucial services due to the weakening shilling against the dollar, which has led to a sharp increase in public debt.
Nyakang'o revealed the case was similar to several other government officials.
She said that the rot in the National Treasury had partially contributed to the high cost of living in the country.
"When I was doing the budget for consolidated funds services, this is where my salary is paid from, I found out that my salary was budgeted at three times what I'm paid. I am the only state officer in my institution so there is nothing like confusion there," she said.