Vihiga governor Wilber Ottichilo is a troubled man after the senate public accounts committee recommended that he be investigated by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission after it was established that he had misappropriated more than Sh1.5 billion public funds.
There was drama at the parliament chambers during a grilling session as Ottichilo sweated profusely when cornered by the senators led by Pac chairman Otieno Kajwang to explain financial expenditure for the financial year ending June 30 2018.
EACC Boss Twalib Mbarak
The report read in part: “The statements of financial assets and liabilities reflect a cash and cash equivalents balance of Sh1,568,865,525 as at June 30 2018. However, the cash flow statements indicate a balance of Sh1,606,203,719 resulting into unexplained variance of Sh37,338,194. Further, cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year of Sh533,197,156 is at conflict with the comparative figure of Sh533,299,668 by Sh102,512.
It went on: “In view of forgoing, the validity, completeness and accuracy of the cash and cash equivalents balance of Sh1,568,865,525 could not be ascertained by Ottichilo’s government”.
The committee was told that Ottichilo’s government had an outstanding imprests of more than Sh57 million.
The county further lost Sh13, 650,041 collected as revenue from the Vihiga Referral Hospital as the money could not be accounted for.
The governor failed to impress the senators as he referred all the queries posed to him originating from the auditor’s report to his CECM in charge of finance Alfred Indeche.
Indeche was also worse as he fumbled in his response to audit queries annoying the senate probe team that at one point the Pac chairman threatened to throw him out terming him as a joker.
Senator Kajwang’
Kajwang stunned Ottichilo when he told him that he was drunk with power and that he has forgetten about common mwananchi who voted for him.
“From what we are reading in the report it paints a very different picture of the Ottichilo I knew while he was an MP…or after winning power and given big vehicles and a flag you’re drunk with power that you have forgotten about the plight of the poor in Vihiga,” said Kajwang’.
The senators put the governor to task to explain why he authorised Sh24 million to purchase 2.3 acres of land for the construction of governor’s residence.
It is said that the county spent another Sh26 million to pay an architecture who was hired to draw the governor’s hacienda.
Vihiga Senator George Khaniri
Vihiga senator George Khaniri who has launched a spirited campaign to stop the governor from putting up the house questioned why Ottichilo had set aside Sh53 million for the house adding that residents will not get value for money for the same.
Khaniri said that millions of shillings spent for the acquisition two acres of land in the rural county of Vihiga is too high adding that the governor’s house was not a priority for area residents who are struggling to survive.
The committee was shocked to learn that the governor had spent more than Sh116 million on domestic and foreign trips with Ottichilo alone consuming Sh50 million on foreign trips.
Ottichilo failed to table supportive documents like names of officers who traveled copies of air tickets, reasons for travelling among others to defend the usage of the funds.
