Controller of Budget claims her life is in danger

 Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o before the National Assembly Finance Committee at Bunge Towers, Nairobi. [File, Standard] 

The Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang'o now says her life is in danger following her expose of corruption in both the national and county governments.

When she appeared before the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC), Nyakang’o explained how she feels unsafe in office following the threats.

"The fact that I hold a protected office was ignored and I was abducted to Mombasa, but I'm here in the office without fear or favour. Sometimes I feel unsafe but the law has protected me. I'm here to carry out my duties under the law," she stated referring to her arrest in December 2023.

At the same time, the Controller of Budget told the committee that her office is also underfunded hence hindering her duties.

"The Auditor-General's office gets close to Ksh.9 billion while we only get Ksh.700 million to work with for the whole year and yet we cover the whole country. This is a big challenge to my office," she said. 

On Tuesday, September 17, Nyakango told the same committee that budgetary constraints and gaps in law had prevented her from auditing government projects.

She also decried the “discriminatory” salary structure prescribed to her office and a further delay in the implementation of the CoB recommendations by accounting officers often presented hurdles in the efficient execution of her office’s functions.