Auditor-General faults hiring of private jet for Ruto’s Africa tour

The Auditor-General says the law was broken in the procurement of the private jet used by deputy President William Ruto in travelling to several African countries early this year.

In a presentation to the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Auditor-General Edward Ouko said the purported instructions from the Office of the President to hire the jet were not in writing while some documents relating to the procurement of the aircraft were missing.

The procurement of the jet services became a subject of the PAC enquiries when Mr Ruto and his entourage of 15 went on four-country tour and were alleged to have spent Sh25 million.

Mr Ouko said information from the Deputy President’s office indicated that the jet was procured on oral instructions by the OP.

While presenting an audit report on the procurement on Thursday, Mr Ouko said such instructions were contrary to the Article 135 of the Constitution that demands written instructions.

“As you know, Article 135 of the Constitution says that such instructions shall be in writing, and must bear the seal and signature of the President. We did not see such a letter,” said Mr Ouko.

However, Mr Ouko said his office had not asked whether indeed President Uhuru Kenyatta issued such instructions saying the auditor’s office was only required to state whether such verbal instructions were according to procedure or the law.

(READ: Key documents in Ruto jet hire audit missing)

PAC chairperson Ababu Namwamba said that the report should have presented an opportunity for the committee to interact with the Office of the President and find out whether indeed such oral instructions were issued.

Mr Ouko said that whereas his office did not come across any irregularities tied to the Office of the Deputy President, there was breach of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act.

“The actual irregularities could have been caused by the short notice of the procurement… two critical documents for the jet were missing and appeared to have been plucked off,” said Mr Ouko.

Mr Ouko said that his office had been unable to get Ahmed Kassam, a shareholder in EADC Ltd that supplied the jet services, to further explain the circumstances of the procurement.

“PAC should interview Mr Kassam since our efforts to do the same have not borne any fruit,” said Mr Ouko.

Mr Namwamba wondered how it Mr Kassam was reachable in record time when the jet was being procured, yet he had remained elusive to the auditors despite repeated attempts to find him.