Tomorrow will be a critical day for former Devolution Cabinet secretary Ann Waiguru as the National Assembly expected to debate and vote on the report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that has recommended she be charged and barred from holding public office if found guilty over the National Youth Service (NYS) scandal.
She could also undergo a lifestyle audit if the legislators adopt the report of the PAC that has far-reaching recommendations on the scam that saw NYS lose millions of shillings.
Already, several officers, among them former Devolution Principal secretary Peter Mangiti and 15 others have been charged in court over abuse of office and loss of the money.
Should the report be adopted by the House, Waiguru, who is seen as a front-runner for the Kirinyaga governor seat on August 8, could find herself in a tricky situation when it comes to clearance to vie.
The scandal initially involved Sh791 million, but a special audit report by the Auditor General, on whose basis PAC launched the probe, put the figure at more than Sh1.8 billion.
The influential watchdog committee chaired by Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo has recommended that Waiguru be barred from holding public office for “personally plotting and executing” the mega scandal.
It was understood that MPs are split down the middle over the report even as intense lobbying continued yesterday among members.
Sources familiar with the on-goings said some MPs from Mt Kenya region have vowed to support Waiguru by voting against the report, claiming it was a witch-hunt orchestrated to curtail her entry into political office.
But even some of the members, mainly in the Opposition, who are in support of the report argued that it would be of no use as only the courts can bar Waiguru from contesting.
Some of the legislators argued that the committee erred in making the recommendations against her because it is the prerogative of the courts to make such determination after the matter has been heard.