Treasury CS Exposed in Billion-Shilling Fund Scandal – Court Orders Urgent Audit!
The National Treasury is now under intense scrutiny after a bombshell court ruling exposed potential financial mismanagement at the highest levels. The Machakos Constitutional Court has ordered the Treasury Cabinet Secretary to hand over a complete record of every shilling funneled from the Consolidated Fund to the East African Development Bank (EADB) since 2014. And the clock is ticking—Parliament must receive these documents within 60 days.
Justice Rayella Ollel didn’t hold back, declaring sections of the EADB Act—stealthily amended in 2014—unconstitutional. Why? Because the public was conveniently left in the dark when these financial maneuvers were put in place. The ruling specifically targets Sections 2(1) and 2(2) of the Act, which astonishingly allowed the Treasury CS to drain funds from the Consolidated Fund without Parliament’s approval—a blatant violation of transparency, accountability, and good governance.
This legal earthquake was set off by a petition filed in May 2023 by Paul Lihanda, who, through his lawyer Gregory Ndege, sought urgent intervention. His demand? A full stop to unchecked withdrawals by Treasury CS John Mbadi. The case named heavyweights like the Central Bank of Kenya, the Auditor General, the Attorney General, and the Treasury CS himself as respondents.
The court didn’t just demand financial records—it went even further. The Auditor General has been commanded to conduct a forensic audit of all funds siphoned off for EADB over the past decade. That audit, too, must land on Parliament’s desk within 60 days.
Lihanda’s argument was simple yet damning: the Treasury CS had been dipping into public funds without a shred of parliamentary oversight, effectively bulldozing past legal safeguards meant to protect Kenyans’ money. The court agreed—his rights had been trampled in the process.
This ruling has sent shockwaves through government corridors, raising urgent questions: How much money has truly been moved? Who authorized these transactions? And most critically—was this a cover-up all along?
