By Francis Kioko.
The Senate Public County Investments Committee has summoned former Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu to address significant discrepancies in the financial statements of the county’s textile center, KIKOTEC, spanning three fiscal years. This move follows the appearance of the current Kitui Governor, Julius Malombe, before the committee to respond to concerns raised by the Auditor General regarding the mismanagement of public funds within the KIKOTEC textile industry during the 2020 and 2021 financial years.
Governor Malombe, who took office after the 2022 general elections, clarified to the committee that he was not in power during the period in question. He urged the committee to summon his predecessor, Ngilu, to provide further explanations, particularly concerning what he termed as a “daylight public money embezzlement scheme.”
Upon assuming office, Governor Malombe suspended the operations and funding of several county investment projects initiated under Ngilu’s administration. The Auditor General’s report had flagged these projects, including KIKOTEC, for incurring substantial losses. KIKOTEC alone was reported to have operated at a loss exceeding Ksh 90 million. Citing the need to prevent further wastage of public funds, Malombe halted financing to these projects as he awaited guidance on their future viability.
Senator Osotsi, speaking on behalf of the committee, announced several resolutions:
“The committee hereby issues summons, pursuant to Article 125 of the Constitution and sections 18 and 20 of the Parliamentary (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017, to the former Governor of Kitui County Charity Ngilu, the former top management officials, and all officials who signed financial statements of the Kitui County Textile Center in the Financial years 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022.”
The committee also requested that Governor Malombe submit various reports and information within three days, including the center’s status report, names and contact details of the Board of Directors, and details of signatories to the center’s bank accounts.
Additionally, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) was invited to participate in a forthcoming meeting, scheduled for next month, to further investigate the matter.
About The Author
