LSK CEO rejects William Ruto’s nomination to public debt audit team: ‘Unconstitutional’

• LSK CEO Faith Odhiambo was to be a member of the presidential task force responsible for the audit of public debt
• President William Ruto appointed the team on Friday, July 5, asking for a report to be delivered after three months
• However, the LSK opposing the move said Ruto made a mistake by calling the task force an unconstitutional entity and declaring that its chairman would not serve on it

Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has over three years of experience reporting on politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Nairobi: The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has said its president Faith Odhiambo will not honour President William Ruto’s nomination.

Odhiambo was named among the members of the commission tasked with conducting an audit of the national debt and submitting a report to the president.

The LSK considered this nomination unconstitutional.

What was the resolution of the LSK?

Through its chief executive, Florence Muturi, the lawyers ruled that the statutory audits were being held for the Auditor-General.

They cited a case in which the Supreme Court identified the Office of the Auditor General as the competent entity to audit the accounts of Trans Nzoia County.

“We take note of the recent judgment of the Supreme Court highlighting the role of the Auditor General in matters of public audit in the case of Ondago v Natembeya and 15 Others (2023) KEHC 22268 (19 September 2023) (the judgment) wherein the Supreme Court while quashing the Task Force appointed to conduct an audit of the debts of the county government, held that the governor may request the Auditor General to conduct a forensic audit,” the LSK statement reads in part.

Taking the above into account, the lawyers decided that their president would not take office.

They were deeply convinced that the mandate to audit the public debt belongs to the office of the Auditor General.

“The Council of the Law Society of Kenya has resolved that neither our president nor any of our members will hold office or participate in the work of the said task force,” the LSK said.

The LSK recommended that Ruto refrain from what it called usurpation of the constitutional powers of the auditor-general through executive orders.

What was the purpose of the Debt Task Force?

Ruto announced the establishment of the commission on Friday, July 5.

Nancy Onyango served as team leader and her assistant was Luis Franceschi.

In addition to Odhiambo, members would include Philip Kaikai, Kenya Institution of Engineers president Shammah Kiteme and Vincent Kimosop.

Abraham Rugo and Aaron Thegeya will serve as joint secretaries of the task force.

According to the CEO, the team would assess the current level of debt and propose repayment terms and probable lines of negotiation.

Ruto also tasked the team with establishing whether the country had benefited from the debt, what was the cost of the financed projects and the return on investment.

“In light of the current debt burden, the need for fiscal consolidation and the limited fiscal space, recommend alternative sources of financing for the country’s development needs in the short and medium term and any debt reorganisation plans; and also consider, execute or advise on any other matter or topic ancillary to the above,” Ruto’s notice reads in part.

Question about public debt

The national debt, which now stands at more than 10 trillion Kenyan shillings, was mostly incurred during the administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The government has borrowed heavily to finance infrastructure across the country.

This has led to an increase in debt to unprecedented levels, resulting from massive spending and a large deficit.

The National Treasury’s Quarterly Economic and Fiscal Review showed that the gross public debt as at 30 June 2022 increased by 882.5 billion Kenyan shillings compared to the same period in June 2021.

In 2022, when Uhuru left office, it stood at KSh8.9 trillion.

Source: TUKO.co.ke