The Senate County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee on Tuesday questioned Kericho Governor Dr. Erick Mutai over major financial irregularities, including unlawful waivers worth over Sh13 million and a non-operational municipality with only one employee.
During the session, Committee Vice-Chairperson Senator Eddy Oketch raised concerns about waivers totaling Sh13,359,421 that were granted to patients at the Kericho County Referral Hospital without any legal policy or budgetary approval.
“You cannot issue waivers of over Sh13 million purely on discretion. That’s a clear violation of the law and exposes the county to potential misuse of public money,” said Senator Oketch, referencing Section 159 of the Public Finance Management Act.
The senators also raised alarm over discrepancies in the hospital’s financial records. The Auditor General had flagged a mismatch of Sh3.2 million in net assets and unexplained cash flow differences of over Sh59 million.
Senator William Kisang demanded accountability, saying it was shocking that a qualified accountant could approve financial documents with such serious errors.
“This cannot go unpunished. The officer responsible must face disciplinary action,” he added.
Attention also turned to the dormant Kericho Municipality, which the committee said only exists on paper.
Although the municipality has an approved staff establishment of 252 positions, it only has one active employee. The committee accused the county government of failing to operationalize the municipality even after it was formally chartered.
“What we are seeing in Kericho is a municipality that has never been allowed to function. You must urgently allow its board and management to operate independently as the law requires,” said Committee Chairperson Senator Godfrey Osotsi.
Another concern was the incomplete Kericho Modern Market, a project where the contractor had already been paid over 70 percent of the contract value—approximately Sh164.4 million—despite the project stalling and the contractor’s performance bonds having expired.
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