NAIROBI, Kenya – Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo has assured Parliament that the government has full control of the e-Citizen platform, pushing back against audit findings that questioned payments and raised accountability concerns.
Appearing before the National Assembly on Thursday, Kiptoo said the platform’s takeover from private vendors included the handover of all source codes, applications, and modules, placing the system entirely under state management.
“The handover entails a complete and unconditional surrender of all source code… all applications and modules supporting the services to the control of the ICT Authority,” Kiptoo told MPs, adding that all source codes are stored in government-managed data centres.
He cited the National Transport and Safety Authority as an example, saying its data is securely housed in a dedicated government facility.
The e-Citizen platform, which went live in 2017, has significantly boosted public revenue collection.
According to Kiptoo, annual revenues surged from Sh20 billion in 2022/23 to Sh163 billion in the 2024/25 financial year.
Audit Queries
The audit warned that such payments could expose the state to legal and accountability risks.
But Kiptoo defended the transactions, insisting they were lawful and arose from contract adjustments rather than irregular spending.
He explained that the ICT Authority had cleared about Sh850 million in obligations before halting payments, while the Immigration Department later paid out the balance, bringing the total to Sh1.1 billion.
Gateway Ownership
Kiptoo also clarified that while the government now controls the e-Citizen platform and its data, it does not own the payment gateway infrastructure.
“The companies transacting using these payment channels don’t own them but pay a fee for the use of the same, just like any firm using Visa or PesaPal,” he said.
Treasury further dismissed audit concerns over unlisted bank accounts that had collected millions in e-Citizen revenues across four fiscal years.
The PS said the accounts were legitimate and were created by PesaFlow and Equity Bank specifically for government revenue collection.
