Shock as Auditor General Exposes Ksh44.8B Mystery in eCitizen Accounts

 

An explosive audit report has unearthed a massive financial black hole within Kenya’s digital revenue system, revealing that over Ksh44.8 billion collected through the eCitizen platform cannot be accounted for. The missing funds raise serious questions about systemic failures in transparency, oversight, and possible collusion.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s report for the financial year ending June 30, 2024, details glaring discrepancies between revenue statements and actual receipts from ministries and state agencies. The report flagged opaque transactions, missing bank records, and unsanctioned accounts that allegedly facilitated the diversion of public funds. “Receipts totalling Ksh44.8 billion remain unverified, with variances across all ledgers,” Gathungu warned.

In addition, at least Ksh144 million is reported missing from key state departments, including NTSA and the Ministry of Lands. Several MDAs reportedly lacked proper records, failed to submit reconciled statements, and operated outside structured Treasury oversight. Some funds were retained instead of being deposited in the Consolidated Fund, directly breaching Article 206 of the Constitution.

The eCitizen platform is operated by a private consortium—ECS—comprising Webmasters Kenya, Pesaflow, and Olive Tree Media. Despite managing billions in public funds, no valid service-level agreements exist with these providers. Treasury also lost full operational control after its agreement with Safaricom lapsed in June 2023.

Parliament has since launched an inquiry, with the ICT and Security Committees probing the May 2023 contract that allows vendors to dismantle the system and exempts them from legal liability. MPs plan to summon Treasury PS Chris Kiptoo to explain why billions vanished without trace.

As the dust settles, Kenyans are left wondering: who really controls the eCitizen cash cow—and how deep does this digital looting go?