JKUAT Staff Find A Mysterious 54 Million In Their Accounts
21 staff members at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) were surprised to find Ksh54 million spread out in their personal bank accounts without notice. A report on the Daily Nation revealed that one of the workers was so shocked upon checking his bank balance that he immediately turned to the school’s council and reported himself/herself.
The staffer made it clear that he had not made any request or seen any vouchers explaining the source or purpose behind the money being deposited directly to the account. This was what led the school’s council to probe Vice-Chancellor Victoria Ngumi, whose personal account also reflected a significant chunk of the Ksh54 million.
A link was quickly established between the money and a project that the campus was contracted to carry out. “I wrote to request urgent assistance from your office to undertake a forensic audit into the financial management projects undertaken by the Industrial Park Limited,” reads a letter addressed to the Auditor-General’s office from the JKUAT council.
The letter to the Auditor-General explained that no payment vouchers were made out to the beneficiaries nor did any worker sign any kind of document acknowledging the payment. JKUAT Vice-Chancellor Victoria Ngumi stated that there was nothing to hide as the Ksh54 million could be explained.
“The payments were processed procedurally and followed due process. They were factored in the project budget from the very onset and were declared as a cost to the project,” the VC explained. “I have written to request urgent assistance from your office to undertake a forensic audit of financial management projects undertaken by Industrial Park Limited,” reads an excerpt from a letter addressed to the Office of the Auditor General by the council. of JKUAT. University council chairman Gumato Yatani and the VC clashed several times before the latest incident, with reports claiming the relationship between the two had deteriorated.
