Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo is a man in the crosshairs of Members of Parliament after failing to honor 16 invites to appear before a watchdog committee to be accountable over the expenditure of public funds.
The National Assembly's Special Funds Accounts Committee is furious that Dr Kiptoo has failed to appear before it to account for billions of funds allocated to 14 entities under his purview.
A series of invites dating back to 2023 to the latest one, which was Wednesday, October 8, 2025, the PS has never had time to appear before the Committee chaired by Migori Woman representative Fatuma Mohamed.
The committee, in a strongly worded statement, is now accusing Dr Kiptoo of being a stumbling block in executing its mandate of scrutinizing how public funds allocated to various entities under his control have been utilized.
“The biggest challenge remains the continued failure of the Accounting Officer to appear before the Committee, despite repeated invitations. This persistent non-compliance has stalled progress in concluding scrutiny and has impeded the Committee’s constitutional mandate of ensuring transparency and accountability in the use of public resources,” reads a statement from the committee after the PS failed to appear again on Tuesday.
The committee says, to date, it has successfully scrutinized and concluded examination of 50 Funds, excluding the 14 pending ones under Dr Kiptoo. Consideration of these 14 Funds would mark a major milestone in the Committee’s ongoing efforts to clear the existing backlog and strengthen accountability within the management of Special Funds.
Established under Standing 205, the Special Funds Accounts committee is one of the six watchdog committees of the National Assembly, which is mandated to examine the reports of the Auditor General on funds established by statute or by subsidiary legislation, the Equalization Fund, the Equalization Fund Advisory Board, the Political Parties Fund and other funds as may be communicated by the speaker.
The committee noted that it has a backlog of reports from the 14 funds under the purview of the PS dating back to Financial Years 2017/2018 to 2023/2024.
“These 14 Funds constitute a significant portion of the total number of Funds that fall under the oversight mandate of the Special Funds Accounts Committee,” says the committee.
The 14 funds under the control of Dr Kiptoo include the Rural Enterprise Fund, Treasury Main Clearance Fund, Kenya Local Loans Support Fund, Government Clearing Agency, Equalization Fund, African Union and Other International Organizations Subscription Fund, Provident Fund and the European Widows and Orphans Pensions Fund.
Others include the Asian Officers' Family Pensions Fund, Asiatic Widows and Orphans Pensions Fund, Contingencies Fund, Petroleum Development Levy Fund (Holding Account), Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund, and Credit Guarantee Scheme.
PS letter to House committee
In one of the letters to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Samuel Njoroge seen by the Nation , Dr Kiptoo told the committee that he is in Washington, DC, USA, attending the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund hence will not be able to appear before them.
“The purpose of this letter is to seek your indulgence to request you to inform the Honourable committee and also request that my office be represented by Mr Benard Ndung’u, Director General Accounting Services and Quality Assurance, together with George Gichuru, who are well versed with the subject matter,” reads the letter.
Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
However, the letter by the PS, which is dated October 3, 2025, is just addressing one meeting invite only and not the remaining 15
The Nation reached out to Dr Kiptoo through phone call and text message on why he has missed other meetings but he did not reply.
Article 125 of the Constitution gives Parliament the power to summon any person to appear before it for the purpose of giving evidence or providing information.
The provision further gives the House of Parliament and any of its committees the same powers as High Court in terms of enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath, affirmation or otherwise.
Parliamentary committees under section 19 of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act have the power to enforce the attendance of a witness.
In accordance with the Kenya Parliamentary (Powers and Privileges) Act, committees enjoy and exercise all the powers and privileges bestowed in parliament by the constitution and statute, including the power to summon witnesses and to request and receive papers and documents from the government and the public.
Occasions when the PS has failed to appear before the committee;
1. Tuesday, March 14, 2023
2. Thursday, March 16, 2023
3. Thursday, May 11, 2023
4. Tuesday, September 18, 2023
5. Wednesday, November 15, 2023
6. Wednesday, November 22, 2023
7. Tuesday, October 22, 2024
8. Wednesday, October 23, 2024
9. Thursday, October 24, 2024
10. Tuesday, September 16, 2025
11. Wednesday, September 17, 2025
12. Thursday, September 18, 2025
13. Tuesday, September 23, 2025
14. Wednesday, September 24, 2025
15. Thursday, September 25, 2025
16. Wednesday, October 8, 2025
