The National Assembly leadership has put the incoming Budget Committee members on notice following cases of misappropriation of funds revealed on the floor of the house.

Speaking on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, house majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah and his minority counterpart Junet Mohammed read the riot act for parliamentarians following cases of misappropriation by the past house committee.

The matter was occasioned by a complaint brought before the house by Omboko Milemba who unearthed an unjustly sharing of public participation monies. Milemba argued that the committee where public participation was done was denied their rightful shares.

Allegations of potential ballooning figures meant for the public participation exercise were also discussed.

Committee challenged

Reacting to the news, Ichung’wah challenged the incoming leadership to fidelity and ensure equitable distribution while discharging their mandate and enriching themselves.

“The budget participation process has indeed been abused. The problem is that people with a vested interest in committees use the opportunity to put projects in their own constituencies and counties and not in line with the intended projects. It’s sad that some counties have had to lose out because of this bad manners by ourselves and those serving in those committees,” the MP who served in the committee in the past, decried the scenario.

“We have now reconstituted a new committee. Let me be on record. It won’t be business as usual to use appropriation money for their own constituents at the expense of other Kenyans. This house will not allow members to use their position in committee to misappropriate funds and enrich themselves. We have agreed as both majority and minority leadership that those who get the opportunity to sit in the committee will uphold equal allocation across the country.”

On his part, Junet flagged the practice terming it as criminality. The Suna East MP threatened to de-whip members engaging in selfish acts.
 
“What has been happening for the last two years in the Budget Committee borders criminality if we lay it bare. Those atrocities must be talked about. How on earth can one county have an allocation of Ksh12 billion and a whole region has Ksh60 million? What country are we living in? The Budget Committee went around the country for public participation. They agreed to use Ksh2 billion to allocate to counties visited. The amount later ballooned to Ksh12 billion with beneficiaries being other counties and not the ones on that participation,” he said.

Skewed funding

“What makes members go and benchmark in a colleague’s constituency? It is because he is receiving more funding based on being the chair. He is sitting in an advantageous position of a house committee and thus can do skewed allocation of resources,” he quizzed.
 
”If the new team does its business as the previous committee then we will convert the whole house to be a budget committee. The resources of country must be shared equitably or we will de-whip those who are culpable,” he said.

The reconstitution of several committees is set to be held on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, as the house chooses new leaders with the Budget Committee chaired by Ndindi Nyoro among them.