Parliament fines Ziwa Technical procurement officer Sh500,000 over audit flaws
Education
By
Mike Kihaki
| Dec 04, 2025
Parliament on Wednesday used rare personal liability powers to fine a Ziwa Technical Training Institute procurement officer Sh500,000 as lawmakers widen a crackdown on audit
failures and financial mismanagement across public institutions.
The National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education invoked Standing Order 191A and the Conflict-of-Interest Act 2025 to enforce individual accountability.
The penalty is one of the few times Parliament has invoked personal liability powers, which have mostly been used to sanction non-appearance rather than misleading testimony, making the Ziwa fine potentially precedent-setting.
"We are not here to entertain excuses. Our responsibility is to protect public funds and enforce accountability," said Bumula MP Wanami Wamboka, who chairs the committee.
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The penalty followed Ziwa’s failure to produce financial statements for the 2017/2018 audit cycle and its inability to explain an Mpesa overdrawing of Sh9 million.
The institute’s finance officer, who has served for nearly a decade, struggled to account for repeated gaps in audit evidence as members questioned her diligence and competence.
Attempts by current management to blame missing records on the deaths of two former principals were dismissed.
"The institution must function beyond personalities. Records must be kept, preserved and produced when required," said Wamboka.
The committee also ordered Maasai Mara Technical and Vocational College to reappear after arriving without key officers, including the former principal and heads of
procurement and human resource, despite unresolved audit issues tied to their tenures.
During examination of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, MPs flagged student debtor balances exceeding Sh800 million.
Management sought approval to write off Sh23 million in uncollectible debt, while Sh464 million relates to postgraduate students who have been unreachable for more than seven
years.
Lawmakers urged the university to operationalise the MMUST HELB Revolving Fund by December 31 to boost recoveries and demanded updates on the stalled Olympic-size
swimming pool, now 77 percent complete.
At Matili Technical Training Institute, MPs raised concern over a Sh46 million fee debt and interrogated a historical staffing imbalance where 120 of 130 employees came from one
ethnic group. Management said compliance now stands at 80 percent under a new diversity policy.
The School Equipment Production Unit was cautioned for weak documentation, and the committee pressed for faster recovery of a disputed 12-acre parcel in Imara Daima
occupied by about 2,000 squatters.
MPs also flagged an uncollected staff debt exceeding Sh800,000, improperly recorded iPads issued to board members and unresolved audit receipts requiring a special audit.
"Heads of institutions must embrace accountability. Public resources must be used prudently and anything less will be met with firm consequences," warned Wamboka.