National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah has refuted allegations that a bill he has sponsored seeks to remove Auditor General Nancy Gathungu from her position as the head of the National Audit Office. Speaking in Parliament during a plenary session, Ichung’wah clarified that the Public Audit (Amendment) Bill 2024 is intended to address constitutional concerns raised by the High Court regarding an earlier bill passed in 2016.
“I have reviewed the report of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning and its proposed amendments to the Bill. Nowhere in the document is there a proposal to remove the Auditor General as the head of the national audit office,” Ichung’wah stated. He also emphasized that Gathungu, when appearing before the committee, did not indicate that the Bill sought to oust her from office.
The Auditor General has recently come under public scrutiny following her revelations about alleged irregularities in the procurement process for the technology system running the Social Health Authority (SHA). Appearing before the Senate Public Accounts Committee, Gathungu asserted that she was fulfilling her constitutional duty by exposing flaws in the tender process.
“I have concluded that there was no effectiveness or lawfulness in the use of public resources on these matters. There is the aspect of governance and risk management, and I have been very clear that there were issues,” Gathungu stated.
Her 2023-2024 audit report highlighted legal violations in the Sh104 billion procurement of SHA’s technology system. The report detailed concerns such as unbudgeted and non-competitive procurement, an undefined scope of work, and the absence of payment agreements. Additionally, it flagged contract clauses that ceded control of the system to a private entity, effectively barring government health agencies from making modifications or accessing certain functionalities.
Addressing accusations on social media, Ichung’wah dismissed claims that the Bill was designed as retaliation against Gathungu’s recent report. He clarified that the Bill was published in January 2024, not January 2025 as some have alleged.
“The Office of the Auditor General is an independent constitutional office, protected under Article 229 of the Constitution,” Ichung’wah reaffirmed, stressing the institution’s autonomy and the need to protect its role in ensuring transparency and accountability in public resource management.
