A parliamentary watchdog panel has recommended that Kipchumba Murkomen be prosecuted for aiding and abetting money laundering.
The National Assembly Public Accounts Committee said all the partners in law firm Sing'oei, Murkomen and Sigei advocates should be charged in connection to the NYS scandal.
The firm is linked to Murkomen, who is Elgeyo Marakwet Senator and
Deputy President William Ruto's key ally.
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The PAC,
after months of intrigue and dilly-dallying, tabled the report on its special investigations into operations of the Devolution ministry and the National Youth Service.
The committee said on Thursday that
up to Sh23 billion of the total budget allocated to the entire ministry - of which Sh10 billion is traceable to NYS - was misappropriated.
Murkomen's law firm was found to have received Sh15 million from Out of the Box Solutions - a firm accused of receiving millions irregularly through fraudulent contracts with NYS.
MM Gitonga advocates and Ogola &Mujera Co. Advocates are the other law firms whose partners should be taken to court in connection to the scam.
But Murkomen hit at the committee in a press briefing, accusing members of improperly indicting him after allegedly failing to get a bribe from him.
"They are targeting me because of my brilliance and hard work. I have never seen a committee and its chair sit in a corner and come up with such a shoddy and confused report," he said.
"The chairman and his brigade are suffering collateral damage. I will not apologise for being a brilliant and hard working Kenyan and allow the incompetent and unscrupulous behavior of the committee to disgrace my reputation."
The Senator said Parliament had become an institution of intimidation whose members he claimed used the drafting of the report to collect bribes for campaigns.
Murkomen said the committee did not have evidence and wanted him to give a bribe but that he refused. He said they then threatened to make
recommendations that would embarrass him.
He added that MPs "immediately launched their anger and frustration" on him when he made damning revelations for some members to be probed for allegedly collecting Sh40 million to hide key information on the scam.
"The fight against corruption is undermined by oversight entities including Parliament that should be impartial," he told the press at Parliament buildings.
"No institution can subvert the constitution to recommend to the Director of Criminal Investigations to investigate any Kenyan, particularly a Senator of my caliber."
Murkomen
asked the Law Society of Kenya to intervene, arguing that the recommendations by the committee amounted to economic sabotage of Kenya's legal practice. He said he hoped the society would
soon issue a statement.
PAC chairman Nicholas Gumbo's team rushed to make conclusions, he also said, adding their intention was to criminalise a legal practice.
"It is such a shame that even Parliament is a key player in backtracking the fight on corruption. It is evident that our firm is on public trial to suffer embarrassment," he said.
The Senator said he also wrote to Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro for the constitution of a powers and privileges committee
to review the recommendations.
"I have further requested a lifestyle audit be conducted on all the members of the committee to ascertain the truth," he said.
According to an explosive report tabled before the PAC, Hillary Sigei, the managing partner of Murkomen's law firm should be investigated with a view to
instituting criminal charges against him.
Sigei was accused of personally withdrawing a total of Sh500,000, being proceeds of crime,
from the law firm's clients' accounts for personal benefit.
The committee also wants the Director of Public Prosecutions to review his decision to drop charges against former NYS Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Adan Harakhe for lack of evidence.
It wants Harakhe charged for approving a duplicate payment of Sh12.5 million to political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi's Consulting House Limited.
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The committee identified the massive theft as a well-orchestrated scheme starting from the exponential increase of the ministry's budget without ascertaining absorption capacity.
It noted that Harakhe's deployment to the NYS, to a non-existent title of Senior Deputy Director General overseeing all operations, led to a vicious tug of war between old networks and newly installed cartels, leading to the exposure of the scandal.
