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Cherargei: How governors are misappropriating and stealing county funds
10th September, 2025 11:21 AM
Nandi County Senator Samson Cherargei has sounded the alarm over rampant corruption and financial mismanagement in county governments, accusing governors of orchestrating schemes to misappropriate public funds under the guise of revenue collection and procurement.
Speaking in an interview on a local TV station on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, Cherargei warned that county governments have become hotbeds of financial malpractice, often exploiting weak accountability systems to loot public resources.
“The spotlight should be on counties and governors because they need to raise their own revenue. They have no option but to raise and eat it,” he said.
According to the legislator, one of the most commonly exploited loopholes involves the manipulation of revenue receipts.
“For example, what they normally do is they use two receipts with one serial number, such that one will disappear during tabulations, and that is where the governors eat,” he said.
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Cherargei also decried the widespread abuse of the procurement process, accusing governors of using requisitions to block payments to legitimate suppliers while favouring politically connected individuals.
“They are doing requisitions; we took to task the Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o, because counties do requisitions which cause voiding of payments. You find governors paying politically right suppliers and avoiding genuine suppliers,” he stated.
He further demanded action from the National Treasury and the Council of Governors (COG), urging the development of a comprehensive legal framework to enhance transparency in county spending.
“Treasury and COG must give us a legal framework, and e-procurement was part of it. The issue of voiding payments must stop because that is where money is lost,” Cherargei stated.
His remarks come amid debate on devolution accountability, as concerns grow over the misuse of billions of shillings allocated to counties annually.
Audits by the Office of the Auditor-General have repeatedly flagged irregularities in county expenditures, with limited consequences for the perpetrators.
“The spotlight should be on counties and governors because they need to raise their own revenue. They have no option but to raise and eat it.”
“For example, what they normally do is they use two receipts with one serial number, such that one will disappear during tabulations, and that is where the governors eat,” he said.
Treasury and COG to give us a legal framework work and e-procurement was part of it. The issue of voiding payments must stop because that is where money is lost
