Kitui County is once again on the spot after its Public Relations Officer, Barrack Muli, defended the existence of over 300 bank accounts flagged in the latest report by Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang’o.
In a heated WhatsApp exchange on a popular Kitui WhatsApp forum dubbed “Kitui Professional Chatt”, with Channel 15 News Editor Erastus Maleve, Muli brushed off concerns about the legality of the accounts, suggesting instead that even more accounts might be created. He cited ongoing advocacy for polytechnics to enjoy financial autonomy, implying that each could also operate separate bank accounts.
“We might soon comply to this too. So imagine more accounts set to be created too,” Muli wrote in the group conversation seen by Channel 15 News.
Nyakang’o’s report revealed that Kitui County operates 350 bank accounts, making it one of the top counties with the highest number of unauthorized accounts, only behind Homa Bay and Nakuru. The CoB warned that multiple accounts outside her office’s oversight open loopholes for mismanagement and possible theft of public funds.
Muli’s remarks have triggered sharp reactions, with critics accusing Kitui County officials of downplaying accountability concerns instead of addressing them.
“Preparing books of accounts at year-end does not sanitize the illegality of operating unauthorized accounts. The real question is why such accounts were opened outside the law in the first place,” Maleve challenged in the exchange.
Observers now warn that the casual dismissal of the CoB’s findings and the promise of more accounts raises deeper questions about Kitui’s governance culture.
With pressure mounting, Governor Dr. Julius Malombe is yet to issue a formal response to the revelations, even as residents demand clarity on why the county needs hundreds of accounts when a centralized, transparent revenue collection system exists.
The CoB’s report paints a worrying picture nationally, with counties operating a total of 5,076 unauthorized bank accounts, sparking fears that devolution’s biggest threat remains corruption masked under complex financial webs.
