Former Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki was defended by the former Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura over allegations that he approved funds to sponsor his grandchildren in Australia without correct procedure.
National Assembly Public Accounts Committee was told by Muthaura that Kibaki acted in order when he awarded the money to fund his two grandchildren scholarships at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia.
That was presidential discretion to award scholarships. The president, as the chief executive of the country, has a lot of discretion on budget
Muthaura also added that Philip Githinji, a nephew of Kibaki, was unable to pay for the fee after losing his job at Oil Libya.
He told the committee chaired by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi that Kibaki had first written to him to have Ian Nderitu get the scholarship, but later made a verbal communication to have Sandra Njeri included. Githinji is the father of the two.
Njeri and Nderitu were pursuing Engineering and Architecture courses at the institution.
