Wamae wants prosecutory powers for Auditor General after Ksh540M textbook scandal

Former Roots Party deputy presidential candidate Justina Wamae has called for urgent reforms to empower the Office of the Auditor General with prosecutory powers following the exposure of massive irregularities in Kenya’s education funding.

This comes in the wake of a shocking audit report that uncovered Taxpayers may have lost Ksh540.62 million as a result of a skewed textbook distribution by the Ministry of Education to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

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Reacting to the revelations, Justina Wamae condemned the cycle of impunity that often follows audit reports and demanded structural changes to hold officials accountable.

“This is happening at the backdrop of Kenya’s secondary schools facing underfunding crisis. And the sad bit is that the Office of the Auditor-General, Kenya will forward this report to National Assembly committee and we know too well what will happen,” she posted on her X account on Friday, July 18, 2025.

“Even more reason why the Office of the Auditor General should have prosecutory powers,” she added.

Audit exposes education scandal

According to the report tabled before Parliament by the Office of the Auditor General, hundreds of schools were either oversupplied or undersupplied with textbooks, while some received materials for subjects they do not teach. Worse still, some schools received nothing at all, despite full payments having been made.

The audit also revealed that 394 secondary schools, 94 Junior Secondary Schools, and 182 primary schools received excess textbooks worth Ksh90.8 million, while 415 secondary schools and hundreds of JSS and primary schools were shortchanged by nearly Ksh295.6 million worth of textbooks.

The excess books included 370,732 for secondary schools (valued at Sh83.1 million), 15,920 for JSS (valued at Sh3.6 million), and 28,600 for primary schools (valued at Sh4 million).

Conversely, the report shows there was a shortfall in textbooks delivered to 415 secondary schools, 194 JSS, and 245 primary schools compared to enrolled learners, with a total value of Sh295.6 million.

The shortfall included 1.2 million books in secondary schools (valued at Sh263.78 million), 82,922 books in JSS (valued at Sh17.6 million), and 85,050 books in primary schools (valued at Sh14.2 million).

Non-offered subjects

The report states: [The] number of excess textbooks supplied to schools ranged between one (1) to one thousand, one hundred and forty-eight (1,148) for secondary schools, one (1) to one hundred and sixty-one (161) for JSS and one (1) to four hundred and ninety-eight (498) for primary schools. The total value of excess textbooks supplied to schools was Sh90,834,203.”

“[The] shortfall in textbooks supplied to schools ranged between one (1) to one thousand, four hundred and eight-five (1,485) for secondary schools, one (1) to three hundred and seventy-six (376) for JSS and one (1) to five hundred and forty (540) for primary schools. The total value of the shortfall in textbooks supplied to schools amounted to Sh295,631,193,” the report says

Regarding the distribution of textbooks for subjects not offered at schools, the audit established that 118 secondary schools received 134,199 books, 225 JSS received 12,137, and 26 primary schools received 281 for subjects not offered, amounting to Sh30.3 million.

In secondary schools, 134,199 books were delivered for subjects not offered (valued at Sh27.1 million). In JSS, 12,137 books were delivered for subjects not offered (valued at Sh3.16 million). In primary schools, 281 books were delivered for subjects not taught (valued at Sh55,924).