EMBU, Kenya- Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire has come under intense scrutiny after it emerged that the county government allegedly diverted Sh10 million earmarked for development to finance a political event aimed at empowering boda boda riders.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard that the funds, originally allocated for the construction of the Embu County Aggregated Industrial Park, were instead used to bankroll a boda boda summit attended by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
Lawmakers questioned why the county administration withdrew development funds to support a political programme while stalling a key project expected to benefit residents.
Appearing before the committee, Governor Mbarire admitted to authorising the reallocation of the funds, citing financial pressure at the time.
“We had what we were calling a boda boda summit, where we were launching boda boda SACCOs, and we did not have the money. Yet we had already promised to support the SACCOs financially, so we used the money to give them the funds,” Mbarire told the committee.
The admission shocked members of the committee, led by Chairperson Moses Kajwang, who criticised what they described as a growing trend of county governments flouting the law and misusing public funds.
“What is worse, the funding of a boda boda function or the admission by Vihiga County that they raided accounts to finance a housewarming? I think this one is worse. It is now upon us to make our recommendations,” Kajwang said.
“Such borrowing cannot be accepted, especially if the money came from the Senate. It was an illegality, and we must make that determination.”
The committee indicated that Governor Mbarire and the responsible county officials could be surcharged for engaging in what it termed an illegal transaction.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna called for severe punishment, arguing that the law had been broken knowingly.
“There must be a difference between someone who breaks the law unknowingly and those who do so deliberately. These are criminals from Embu who broke the law knowingly, and they deserve much harsher punishment,” Sifuna said.
In her defence, Governor Mbarire appealed for leniency, maintaining that the incident was unprecedented in Embu County.
“It is the first time this has happened in Embu County. We acted under immense pressure, and I want to assure the Senate that it will never happen again,” she pleaded.
