Margaret Nyakang'o Released Hours After Arrest

Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o was on Tuesday, December 5 released, hours after she was reportedly arrested in Mombasa.

Nyakang'o was arraigned before a Mombasa Court over conspiracy to defraud, operating an unlicensed Sacco, forgery, and uttering false documents, contrary to section 353 of the Penal Code.

She pleaded not guilty to the four charges before the court where she was one of 11 individuals implicated in the offences.

Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o in court on December 5, 2023. /X

As a result, she was released on a Ksh2 million bond, with the option of a similar surety or Ksh500,000 in cash.

The charges emerged from an inquiry file initiated by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and handed over to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

The controller of budget and 10 others were found culpable after a thorough examination of new evidence according to the inquiry file. The ODPP received a letter from the complainant on October 31, 2023, indicating the offences allegedly committed by the suspects.

"The file was again resubmitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions through a letter dated October 31, 2023, for further directions and upon perusal of the new evidence, we find that the following persons are criminally culpable," the letter read in part. 

Nyakang'o's arrest triggered widespread condemnation, especially from politicians allied to the Azimio la Umoja coalition who questioned the motive of the arrest.

“Welcome to Kenya where the police take action on a complaint 7 years later...only crooks can survive in a rotten system.” Narok Senator, Ledama Olekina remarked in a statement. 

“You don’t arrest the Controller of Budget her job is clearly defined in the constitution. If you have a problem with her role to oversee the implementation of the budgets, amend the constitution."

Saboti Member of Parliament (MP) Caleb Amisi weighed in by stating “She has been at the forefront of fighting corruption that is deeply embedded in both the central government and county governments. We must celebrate stern astute women."

As the COB, Nyakang'o's role involves monitoring the use of public funds in both the national and county governments and preparing reports to Parliament on how the funds are utilised.

Notably, she made headlines on Tuesday, March 7 after revealing how she was arm-twisted to approve Ksh15 billion days leading to the August 9, 2022, General Election.

On March 30, she uncovered instances of politicians and other government officials using organised benchmarking trips to loot funds from taxpayers.

Nyakang’o cited the trips among three mischievous tactics used by politicians to deliberately and by all means steal from public coffers, despite guidelines and framework put in place by her office to avert similar scenarios.