Outrage as Vihiga spends Sh5 million on Speaker's house-warming party

Vihiga Governor, Wilber Ottichilo, during a parliamentary session./ PARLIAMENT

A recent report by the Auditor General has thrust Vihiga County into the national spotlight after revelations that the county assembly spent Sh5 million on housewarming ceremonies for the Speaker's official residence.

The revelations have sparked public outrage, with residents and civic groups like the Vihiga Residents Association petitioning the EACC to intervene and demanding a refund of the funds and prosecution.

Angry residents led by activist Alfred Aswani have accused the county of betraying public trust by prioritising comfort over service delivery.

The County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has also raised concerns over an unauthorised release of Sh5 million to finance a housewarming party at the County Assembly Speaker’s residence.

CPAC described the expenditure as unjustified given Vihiga’s severe budgetary constraints, noting that the county’s pending bills ballooned to approximately Sh1.7 billion by June 30, 2025.

The Sh5 million housewarming expenditure dominated the proceedings when Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo appeared before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) chaired by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang.

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei questioned the house-warming expenditure, saying, "How special is the Speaker's house to be warmed with Sh5 million, or is there winter in Vigiga?"

However, Vihiga's Finance Chief Officer struggled to explain how the Sh5 million Speaker's housewarming budget was arrived at.

"The assembly usually writes through the Speaker and the Clerk to request advance payments. These are reviewed by the CEC for Finance, who helps in the approval process," Atemba said.

Governor Otichilo acknowledged the irregularity and pledged to take action after consulting the committee but insisted he could not fully account for how the funds were spent. CPAC dismissed the explanation as inconsistent with financial records.

The County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has also directed Vihiga Governor Wilber Otichilo to surcharge senior county accounting officers over public funds amounting to Sh1.9 million that were advanced as salary loans to county employees but remain largely unrecovered, according to the Auditor-General’s report for the 2024/25 financial year.

The directive came as lawmakers expressed strong dissatisfaction with the county’s poor recovery record, with only Sh85,000 of the total amount repaid.

The Auditor-General’s audit revealed that loans advanced between 2015 and 2017 to various county officials, including former and current county executive staff and Members of the County Assembly (MCAs), remain largely unsettled.

Governor Ottichilo defended the county’s efforts, saying that recovery processes were severely hampered after a government office housing key financial records was destroyed by fire, making it difficult to produce documentation proving the advances.

He added that some beneficiaries have challenged the county to provide evidence that they received the loans.

Opposition and oversight lawmakers criticised the inaction, with Senator Okong’o Omogeni questioning whether officers who authorised the loans were still in service and why no earlier action had been taken, stressing that the delay may now make legal recovery efforts time-barred under the Limitation of Actions Act.

Senator Johnes Mwaruma argued that the loss of records should not excuse failure to pursue recovery since the funds were transferred directly into bank accounts. Meanwhile, Senator Samson Cherarkey warned that further court action might be futile due to statutory limitations.

Parliamentary committee during the procession./PARLIAMENT

CPAC members cited the Public Finance Management Act, underscoring that responsibility for unrecovered public funds rests with accounting officers who authorised the advances.

Senator Moses Kajwang’ emphasised that, while court action may no longer be feasible, existing public finance regulations explicitly allow for surcharging public officers who fail to recover public money.

The CPAC pronouncement comes amid broader fiscal challenges in county governments. Data from the Controller of Budget show that counties across Kenya collectively carried substantial pending bills totalling tens of billions of shillings, underscoring growing financial pressure in devolved units.