MPs to Grill Auditor General Over Allegedly Weakened Audit Reports

• Aug 14, 2025

Members of Parliament have summoned Auditor General Nancy Gathungu to explain what they describe as a worrying decline in the quality of audit reports issued by her office. The lawmakers allege that some audits have failed to flag serious irregularities and instead cleared state agency executives with questionable records.

The summons were issued during a joint session of the Public Investment Committee on Governance and the Education Committee on Wednesday. Committee chairperson and Bumula MP Wanami Wamboka accused the audit office of softening its findings, overlooking major issues, and producing reports that appear to protect certain leaders.

“The quality of reports is wanting. Parliament will not be used to rubber-stamp illegalities in government,” Wamboka said. “Auditors meet with agencies; they clear them and bring them to us to rubber-stamp.”

Bomachoge Chache MP Alfah Miruka echoed these sentiments, stressing that the committees will not act as a conveyor belt for compromised reports. He insisted that both agency heads and the auditors who approved questionable documents must be held accountable.

Wamboka revealed that the committees plan to meet Gathungu next week to address what they consider “compromised” audit reports and to question the directors responsible for signing them. “We want to meet the Auditor General herself next week. This is unacceptable,” he said.

The matter arose while examining the 2023-24 audit report for the Kenya Space Agency. During the session, the acting director general, Hillary Kipkosgey, was told to postpone his presentation after the committee rejected the report. Wamboka declared that the agency’s accounts would require a fresh audit. Kipkosgey responded, “Chair, I am a bit confused but guided.”

Similar concerns were raised about the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) audit. Documents presented to the committee showed that auditors flagged only three issues at the Kenya Space Agency and two at KNQA, leaving out more significant matters while focusing on minor points.

Wamboka criticised the omission of critical issues, accusing the audit office of highlighting “flimsy” concerns instead. In the Kenya Space Agency’s case, Gathungu’s report cited staffing problems, with 14 positions filled on an acting basis for over a year — a situation MPs said undermines operational effectiveness and accountability.

Parliament now plans to question the Auditor General on allegations of behind-the-scenes deals that lawmakers claim are compromising the integrity of Kenya’s public audit process.