Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has called for the introduction of a law to guide the process of reviewing the lifestyles of public office holders. Murkomen emphasized that such legislation is essential to address concerns about state and public officers potentially living beyond their means.
“I propose that Parliament urgently introduces and passes a Lifestyle Audit Bill to provide the parameters of auditing state and public officers and to investigate their living standards to ascertain consistency with their lawful income,” Murkomen stated.
He highlighted that this law would enable the public to assess whether individuals appointed to public office might have unscrupulously enriched themselves through their positions.
Speaking during the burial of Former Permanent Secretary Josiah Sang in Kericho County, Murkomen noted the need for a systematic approach rather than relying on rumors and speculation. “Instead of just talking, people saying, ‘Oh, this person was a minister yesterday, bought shoes, bought a shirt, built a house… why don’t we pass a law in Kenya for lifestyle audits so that every year we can audit everyone holding public office?” he remarked.
Murkomen added that such a law would ensure that lifestyle audits are conducted uniformly for all public officers, preventing selective scrutiny.
“Let’s have a lifestyle audit so that it’s not only Kipchumba Murkomen being watched for what shoes he’s wearing today, or what shirt he’s wearing on what day. It should be a public position
as a country where everybody goes through the same system,” he said, addressing allegations of wealth accumulation since his appointment to the Cabinet by President William Ruto.
