Nancy Gathungu Sworn in as New Auditor General

Nancy Gathungu has been sworn in as Kenya’s new Auditor General.

She replaces former Auditor General Edward Ouko whose tenure came to an end having served for 8 years.

She was sworn in at the Supreme Court of Kenya on Friday, at a ceremony overseen by Chief Justice David Maraga.

CJ Maraga urged Ms Gathungu to discharge her duties firmly as she may, occasionally, find herself on the wrong side of different public officials.

He further promised the Auditor General of full support of the Judiciary, however letting her know that they will also not be afraid to correct her whenever she oversteps her mandate.

“Very often it is the case in leadership positions in this country that you will counter challenges. As it were, you will step on toes, some of them very thick, including even if it is that of the Chief Justice, but you are required to discharge your duty without fear or favour,” said the CJ.

Ms Gathungu said she was honoured to take the oath of office as the new Auditor General of the Republic of Kenya.

She committed to working in consultation with other arms of government to guarantee Kenyans accountability and safeguard the independence of her office.

“I will be holding this office in public trust and will be guided by the needs of the Kenyan people in asking for accountability on how their money has been spent by those in authority,” said Gathungu.

“We will look up to the Judiciary, Parliament and the Executive to safeguard the independence of the office,” said Gathungu.

She hailed Ouko for doing a good job as Auditor General and promised to ensure his legacy is built and improve on four pillars: independence, credibility, relevance and accountability.

She is currently the Director of Audit at the Auditor-General’s office, a position she has held since February 2014.

Gathungu also served as deputy director of audit.

The Office of the Auditor-General of Kenya is an Independent Office established under  Chapter 229 of the Constitution of Kenya to audit Government Bodies and report on their management of allocated funds. 

The Auditor-General’s roles under the Kenyan constitution are:

Within six months after the end of each financial year, the Auditor-General shall audit and report, in respect of that financial year, on:

• Accounts of the national and county governments
• Accounts of all funds and authorities of the national and county governments;
• Accounts of all courts
• Accounts of every commission and independent office established by the Constitution
• the accounts of the National Assembly, the Senate and the county assemblies
• Accounts of political parties funded from public funds;
• The public debt
• Accounts of any other entity that legislation requires the Auditor-General to audit.
• The Auditor-General may audit and report on the accounts of any entity that is funded from public funds.