I was used as a scapegoat in NYS scandal, Peter Mangiti says

Former Devolution Principal Secretary Peter Mangiti on Wednesday appeared before the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee probing theft at NYS where he claimed he was used as a scapegoat in the National Youth Service scandal.

Mangiti told MPs how Former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru triggered changes and allegedly deployed her personal assistants to supervise procurement processes at the ministry.

Mangiti said Waiguru created her own command structure in the ministry that isolated him, and instead instructions were issued through Devolution Senior Administrator Hassan Noor.

Theformer PS also said the former CS directed all procurement staff to report to Noor and not him, and also hand-picked Mutahi Ngunyi’s consulting house firm for NYS restructuring job while under instructions to report only to her.

Mangiti narrated to the committee that his office was sidelined leading to massive procurement irregularities including the exaggeration of prices, adding that the construction of the 3km road in Kibera slums was an NYS project despite millions of shillings being pumped into it.

The former PS, who vacated office at the height of the Ksh791 million NYS scam, said he was branded as an opposition mole who was sabotaging the government and was left out of many decisions.

Mangiti told the public accounts committee that Waiguru’s changes at the NYS provided an easy avenue to swindle public money.

He also told PAC that Waiguru orchestrated fraud at NYS through her personal advisers and allegedly planned to use him as a scapegoat.