Senate wants ex-Nandi governor Cleophas Lagat probed over lost public funds.
A parliamentary oversight committee has recommended that pioneer Nandi governor Dr. Cleophas Lagat be investigated and prosecuted over the loss of public money.
The Senate County Public Accounts and Investments Committee wants the anti-corruption and the criminal investigations agencies to recover public funds from the former county chief.
The report indicted ex-governor Lagat for failing to bank revenue totaling to Sh844,378 collected locally.
The money was not accounted for during the audit period thus possibility of it being embezzled.
“The committee, further, recommends that the county CEO, the accounting officer and other officers responsible for any mismanagement of internal revenue should also be surcharged to the extent of the revenue that may have not been properly accounted for,” it says.
The former county chief should be held responsible for Sh5.6 million that the county officers could not account for during Lagat’s reign, the committee says.
The money was purportedly spent on planting trees including in schools and by the roadsides but the documents were not availed to auditors for scrutiny.
Senate CPAIC also censured Lagat for the mismanagement of Sh8.313 million meant for bursaries for needy students in the county.
The report notes that while the county officers claimed to have disbursed the cash, there was no evidence of the procedure and criteria used to identify the needy students.
“The committee noted with concern the manner in which the bursaries were not properly managed and recommends that the county CEO, the accounting officer and other officers responsible for any mismanagement should be held responsible to the extent of any funds lost or not properly accounted for,” the report reads.
The Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang led-committee has filed reports for financial operations of 10 counties for 2013-14 financial year.
Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, Siaya Governor Cornell Rasanga and former county chiefs Evans Kidero(Nairobi) and Samuel Ragwa (Tharaka Nithi) have also been named for investigations.
