NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 1 – Kenya Kwanza Alliance allied Members of Parliament now say they will move a motion to compel the Auditor General undertake a forensic audit on the funds spent on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
In a press briefing on Friday attended by principals William Ruto, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula, the legislators vowed to use the parliamentary route to ensure the auditor general unearths details on the matter.
“Our members at National assembly are moving a motion compelling the auditor general to undertake a forensic audit on all public funds spent in the illegal process from inception to date,” Mudavadi said.
He stated that Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani and his principal secretary Julius Muia should be held accountable for any illegal utilization of the public funds in the process that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
“We wish to remind the Principal Secretaries and the Accounting Officers who misused their offices in diverting public funds to the BBI initiative, that they are accountable to the public for their illegal decisions and actions as per Article 73 (2) (d) of Chapter Six of the Constitution,” Mudavadi noted.
The ANC leader cited violation of the section 66 of the Public Finance Management Act in the popularization of the BBI as MPs had not appropriated funds for the referendum quest.
“It was rather an illegal diversion of public funds by public officials who decide to use their office to finance politics contrary to the constitution,” he stated.
Mudavadi claims that Sh10 billion has been wasted in the BBI charade with the common mwananchi bearing the brunt of an illegal process which should not have been initiated from the onset.
“It’s not lost to Kenyans the colossal sum of money spent by the promoters of this unconstitutionality. We are aware they BBI promoters spent Sh 10 billion collecting views,” said Mudavadi.
The leaders noted that the Azimio la Umoja initiative is an extension of an illegal process where taxpayers’ money is used for individual interest.
“It is evident that the same arrogance meted upon Kenyans on BBI is well coined in AZIMIO where public funds are now openly being used to fund AZIMIO campaign activities. Time has come for change, the said change can only manifest through the ballot,” he said.
The majority ruling by a seven-judge bench found that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s involvement in the process was unlawful.
Six of the seven judges agreed that the President cannot initiate the process.
In a summarized judgement, Chief Justice Martha Koome further stated that the creation of 70 new constituencies was also against the law.
“In the BBI appeal, we have allowed 5 and disallowed 2,” she stated.
The 7-judge bench focused on 7 areas that included basic structure doctrine, whether the President can initiate a popular initiative, creation of 70 new constituencies, whether the President can be sued, public participation, whether the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was properly constituted and the referendum questions.
Majority of the judges agreed that the President cannot initiate the popular initiative, apart from Lady Justice Njoki Ndung’u who argued that the President can initiate the process either in his personal capacity or in his official capacity since he is democratically elected by Kenyans.
She said Kenyans have a right to enjoy representation from their duly elected leaders, through whom they can exercise sovereign power.
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