DPP orders Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya arrested

DPP orders Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya arrested

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko has ordered the arrest of Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya for failure to honour Senate summons.

Tobiko has directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to take Oparanya into custody in response to a complaint filed by the Speaker of the Senate.

In November, the Senate Public Accounts Committee called on the prosecutor’s office to compel Oparanya to appear before the committee after he failed to heed their summons.

Committee Chairman Boni Khalwale said despite three invitations, the governor had declined to appear resulting in summons, which he has also refused to honour and now wants him ‘frog marched’ to Parliament.

Oparanya has previously accused the Senate of a witch-hunt saying he is not an accounting officer and cannot respond to some of their questions.

Oparanya had been summoned by PAC to answer to pending audit queries.

Some of the issues raised by the Auditor General were misappropriation and irregular diversion of county funds, lack of documentation to support spending of county funds and contravention of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act.

“The auditor found that upon entry into office, the Governor of Kakamega took Sh5.2 million being funds for LATF, and went and bought a car for himself and when he was asked to produce log books for this vehicle that he bought, he did not give them. We want to know why he diverted the funds to buy a car for himself,” Khalwale had stated previously.

According to the auditor’s report, there also were no proper records of debtors and no evidence of efforts to recover the lost money totaling over Ksh10.2 million.

Khalwale had pointed out that severe measures would be undertaken to ensure accountability in the counties.

In August, Oparanya accused Members of County Assembly in (MCAs) of being a stumbling block to development in his county.

Oparanya said that the MCAs are corrupt and deliberately arm-twisted a Kakamega Finance Executive to give them Sh5 million each for buying cars and houses.

Oparanya added that the money had been set-aside in the county’s budget for the construction of roads in the county.

However, in a quick rejoinder, the MCAs led by the leader of minority Titus Kwoma and Lugari ward MCA Musa Makaphila denied the allegations, terming them pure lies.

The MCAs said that the Sh5 million was a loan that they were repaying every month.

The two said that Oparanya was using them as a scapegoat to mask his failures in developing the county.

In June, Oparanya was charged in court for inciting residents to violence.

He was accused of inciting to violence mourners during a funeral ceremony on April 24th, 2014 at Mabole village in Butere.

The court heard that the incitement by the governor resulted to torching of houses and destruction of property of one family that was accused of practicing witchcraft.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko has ordered the arrest of Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya for failure to honour Senate summons.

Tobiko has directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to take Oparanya into custody in response to a complaint filed by the Speaker of the Senate.

In November, the Senate Public Accounts Committee called on the prosecutor’s office to compel Oparanya to appear before the committee after he failed to heed their summons.

Committee Chairman Boni Khalwale said despite three invitations, the governor had declined to appear resulting in summons, which he has also refused to honour and now wants him ‘frog marched’ to Parliament.

Oparanya has previously accused the Senate of a witch-hunt saying he is not an accounting officer and cannot respond to some of their questions.

Oparanya had been summoned by PAC to answer to pending audit queries.

Some of the issues raised by the Auditor General were misappropriation and irregular diversion of county funds, lack of documentation to support spending of county funds and contravention of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act.

“The auditor found that upon entry into office, the Governor of Kakamega took Sh5.2 million being funds for LATF, and went and bought a car for himself and when he was asked to produce log books for this vehicle that he bought, he did not give them. We want to know why he diverted the funds to buy a car for himself,” Khalwale had stated previously.

According to the auditor’s report, there also were no proper records of debtors and no evidence of efforts to recover the lost money totaling over Ksh10.2 million.

Khalwale had pointed out that severe measures would be undertaken to ensure accountability in the counties.

In August, Oparanya accused Members of County Assembly in (MCAs) of being a stumbling block to development in his county.

Oparanya said that the MCAs are corrupt and deliberately arm-twisted a Kakamega Finance Executive to give them Sh5 million each for buying cars and houses.

Oparanya added that the money had been set-aside in the county’s budget for the construction of roads in the county.

However, in a quick rejoinder, the MCAs led by the leader of minority Titus Kwoma and Lugari ward MCA Musa Makaphila denied the allegations, terming them pure lies.

The MCAs said that the Sh5 million was a loan that they were repaying every month.

The two said that Oparanya was using them as a scapegoat to mask his failures in developing the county.

In June, Oparanya was charged in court for inciting residents to violence.

He was accused of inciting to violence mourners during a funeral ceremony on April 24th, 2014 at Mabole village in Butere.

The court heard that the incitement by the governor resulted to torching of houses and destruction of property of one family that was accused of practicing witchcraft.

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