Health committee split over Sh5bn Afya House probe

Differences over the handling of investigations into the possible misappropriation of Sh5 billion at the Health ministry have split the National Assembly’s Health Committee, with its head now facing a no-confidence motion.

About 20 members of the Health Committee were Thursday reported to have signed a petition against Dr Rachel Nyamai, the chair, and Dr Robert Pukose, the vice chair of the committee.

“I signed the petition yesterday (Wednesday) and by the time I was signing, 16 members had signed. By evening, I was being told about 20 members have signed,” said Matungulu MP Stephen Mule.

Key ministry officials, including Health secretary Cleopa Mailu and principal secretary Nicholas Muraguri, have appeared before MPs since an interim audit report raised the red flag over possible loss of billions of shillings in procurement irregularities.

The government has argued that the interim audit is not conclusive evidence of loss of cash.

Internal auditor Bernard Muchere while appearing before the committee, however defended his report, revealing that key documents to support questionable expenditure had still not been availed to him. 

READ: Auditor says report on Afya House scandal is authentic

A meeting of the Health Committee on Thursday morning where differences between members were expected to be addressed was abruptly called off, provoking anger among some of the MPs.

The committee was scheduled to meet Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet in the ongoing investigation into the killing of a cancer patient earlier in the year, but was called off after he requested for it to be held on another day.

But the MPs, some of whom had already arrived at Continental House ready to confront their chairman, were angry at the abrupt cancellation, which they said were only informed of via text message at the last minute.

“They have been covering up for the Ministry of Health in all the graft issues and the mismanagement, which has been going on in the ministry,” said Mr Mule.

There were, however, fears that the superior numbers of the Jubilee Coalition could be brought to bear and used to scuttle the attempt to remove Dr Nyamai.

“We have seen attempts in other committees being scuttled, but we hope that there will be no external influence. Members are determined,” said Kathiani MP Robert Mbui.

Mr Mbui said Dr Nyamai has been accused of incompetence and bullying members in the meetings. Neither Dr Nyamai and Dr Pukose could be reached for comment last evening.

Differences between Dr Nyamai and some members of the committee emerged in Mombasa last Friday when she appeared to pre-empt the team’s position by saying that the containers for the mobile clinics were in order.

“Experts in the committee have ascertained that most of the medical equipment, as per the contract, are available,” she said to the chagrin of members, among them Mr Mbui.

Mr Mbui would later leave the rest of the committee as he protested that he was denied an opportunity to make a comment and ask questions about the 100 containers bought at a cost of Sh1 billion, Sh800 million of which has been paid.

READ: Afya House paid Sh850m more for container clinics

The Senate Health Committee has also been making inquiries into the issues at the Health ministry and the differences in the manner in which the two House committees have handled it have been manifest.

When Dr Mailu met the National Assembly team last week, some members of the committee complained that the chair was shielding him from answering questions.

House rules require that when a majority of the members of a committee don’t have confidence in their chairman, they petition the Clerk of the National Assembly to organise a meeting for the election of another.

Lugari MP Ayub Savula has been the only victim of this rule, having been removed as the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture in September 2013.

Committee chairmen who have survived ouster attempts include Ndung’u Gethenji at Defence and Foreign Relations and Asman Kamama at the Administration and National Security Committee.