The Kikuyu Council of Elders has demanded a lifestyle audit on local politicians to explain the source of their overnight wealth.
The chairman of KCE, Captain Kung’u Muigai, has called for government agencies to urgently deal with and stop the runaway corruption in government, which in the said short period has seen the transformation of many public servants into millionaires.
“We demand accountability. How can someone afford a helicopter after just one year in office?” he questioned.
The elders, attributing widespread government corruption to recent unrest in the country, insisted on an audit of the nation’s debt from the past fifteen years.
They seek clarity on when and why the debt was accumulated, whether proper procedures were followed, and details on how the funds were utilised and the current debt balance.
“We want people to answer questions. We want to know how you can buy a helicopter after being in office for a year,” he said.
The elders, who attributed rampant corruption in government to the recent wave of unrest in the country, demanded an audit of the country’s debt over the last fifteen years.
They demanded to know how, when, and why the debt was incurred and if the correct procedures were followed. They also want to know how the money was spent and the current balance of the debt.
“If we owe money, we want to know how much and when it will be paid,” Mr Kung’u said.
The elders’ call comes weeks after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) warned about the increasing cases of ‘budgeted corruption’ in the devolved units.
According to the commission’s spokesperson, Eric Ngumbi, county executives have colluded with county assemblies to loot public funds by budgeting for non-existent projects.
Mr. Ngumbi highlighted that this trend is deeply rooted in counties, with some assemblies neglecting their oversight role as Members of County Assembly and their associates scramble to position themselves as the main beneficiaries of county tenders.
“The commission continues to note that many county governments are engaging in budgeted corruption. They do this through collusion between the relevant committees of the county assembly and the chief officers of the departments where projects are supposed to take place,” he said.
Mr. Ngumbi linked the increase in ghost workers in counties to corrupt budget practices. He described it as the main form of payroll fraud affecting county governments and noted that the commission is investigating a syndicate involving senior officials inflating employee numbers to embezzle funds.
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