Nairobi County boss facing imprisonment for failure to honour PAC summon
Nairobi County Secretary Dr Robert Ayisi risk a jail term of six months or a fine of Sh 200,000 after he failed to honor Public Accounts Committee summons over 2013/14 audit report.
The Nairobi County Assembly is invoking the power and privilege Act 2014, of county assemblies which was signed by the president in March giving the County Assemblies the same status as Parliament where members do not face legal action for what they utter within the designated premises.
The county clerk wrote to Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Keriako Tobiko asking for his intervention following the failure by the county secretary, Dr Ayisi who is the designated accounting officer of the county government executive entities to honor summons by PAC.
The report by the PAC committee has been deferred from the county assembly after it lacked an accounting officer who can be queried over audit report of possible loss of public money since the chief officers are not the authorized as accounting officers for the county.
In March, the PAC had summoned the county executive for finance Gregory Mwakanogo to appear before them on the auditor general queries but he wrote a letter saying he is not the accounting officer – saying such queries should be directed to County Secretary, Dr Robert Ayisi.
PAC has since then written thrice to the county secretary to appear before them but has failed three times forcing the assembly to invoke the new law.
INVESTIGATION
However, Mr Tobiko has ordered an investigation into the complaint and submit the resultant police report file to the DPP for perusal and directions within 14 days from the date hereof.
“The clerk under the directions of the speaker of the said assembly has sort the DPP intervention under the provisions of section 34 of the County Assembly Power and Privileges Act 2017, following the failure by one Dr Robert Ayisi the designated accounting officer of the county government executive entities to honor summons by the public account committee,” read a letter dated May 26th 2017 by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Mutuku.
Meanwhile, four county officials risk two years imprisonment or a fine of Sh 500,000 following an office space scuffle that left two MCAs and staff injured.
Mr Tobiko has also directed the director of criminal investigations Mr Ndegwa Muhoro to investigate an incident that is alleged to have taken place on the April 7, 2017 at 7.40am.
It is alleged that on April 7, 2017, the four, the chief officer inspectorate Mr Francis Munyambu together with Caleb Otieno, Mr Albert Koech and Eva Wairuko led a contingent of county askaris and firemen armed with grinders, hydraulic cutters and other assorted heavy metallic equipment and invaded a gazette precincts by lobbying teargas canisters at the members and staff of the county assembly.
The assembly clerk Jacob Ngwele, in a letter to the DPP dated April 11, 2017, said MCA Peter Isuha, ward representative Kangemi and Alvin Palapala (MCA Kitsuru) were physically beaten and assaulted while proceeding to the assembly and that the case was reported to KICC police station (OB No.18/07/04/2017). The sergeant at arms were also assaulted, abused and threatened.
