Governor Lonyangapou grilled by senate over misuse of county funds

West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapou was on Thursday grilled by the Senate Public Accounts and Investment Committee over misappropriation of county funds.

According to a report by auditor general, the county spent huge sums of money which was not budgeted for during 2013 -2014 financial year.

The committee chairman, Moses Kajwang said the report indicates that the county used Ksh. 8 million to purchase furniture which had not been budgeted for.

The report further indicated that though Kshs.10 million was budgeted for the construction of an Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) project, the county spent Ksh. 22 million. The report further indicated that Ksh. 30 million was spent on construction of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) facility.

Appearing before the committee sitting in Eldoret, Lonyangapou blamed the mismanagement of funds on county officials whom he said no longer work with him.

The governor called for investigation and prosecution of the said officers.

The Governor was also questioned last week by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) over claims that his deputy Dr. Nicholas Atudonyang is still earning a salary from the county illegally.