Parliament has directed Auditor General Nancy Gathungu to conduct a forensic audit of revenue generated by the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) from the fuel levy for the 2020/21 to 2022/23 financial years, following persistent concerns over unexplained variances, weak reconciliations, and rising pending bills across road agencies.
The directive was issued by the National Assembly’s Public Investment Committee on Commercial and Energy Affairs, which wants the audit to establish the exact amounts collected by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the sums remitted to KRB, and how much was eventually disbursed to road agencies during the period under review.
In her findings, Ms Gathungu raised serious questions over unreconciled balances in the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF). She noted that the statement of financial position reflected Sh5.53 billion in receivables from non-exchange transactions, including an RMLF grant receivable of Sh5.08 billion from the Kenya Roads Board.
However, the Auditor General observed that KRB’s own audited financial statements showed RMLF disbursements payable to the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) amounting to Sh2.32 billion. This resulted in an unexplained variance of Sh2.76 billion that had neither been clarified nor reconciled.
“In the circumstances, the completeness and accuracy of grant receivables totaling Sh5.17 billion could not be confirmed,” Ms Gathungu stated in her report.
Appearing before the committee chaired by Pokot South MP David Pkosing, KURA Director General Silas Kinoti told lawmakers that the Sh5.17 billion grant receivable from KRB, as reflected in KURA’s financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2022, was received at the beginning of the 2022/23 financial year and accounted for in line with applicable accounting standards.
Despite this explanation, the committee maintained its directive for a forensic audit. In its report on the audited accounts of seven road agencies, the committee formally instructed the Auditor General to go beyond routine reconciliation and undertake a forensic review of fuel levy collections and disbursements.
“The forensic audit should confirm the amount collected by the Kenya Revenue Authority and disbursed to the Kenya Roads Board, as well as the amounts released by the board to road agencies for the stated period,” Mr Pkosing said.
The committee also directed Mr Kinoti to submit a comprehensive report to the National Assembly within three months detailing the proposed securitisation of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund and progress made in clearing pending bills, which lawmakers said had reached worrying levels.
Ms Gathungu reported that KURA had payables from exchange transactions amounting to Sh15.4 billion as at June 30, 2022, comprising Sh14.18 billion in current liabilities and Sh1.18 billion in non-current liabilities. Of this amount, Sh14.15 billion was owed to suppliers and contractors.
Comparisons with the previous financial year show that pending bills rose from Sh12.28 billion as at June 30, 2021, to Sh15.36 billion a year later—an increase of Sh3.08 billion or 25 percent. Mr Pkosing warned that the growth in unpaid obligations exposed the authority to avoidable costs in interest and penalties, strained cash flow, and risked disrupting operations.
Past Leadership Likely to Face Renewed Scrutiny
While the forensic audit has been framed as a technical exercise, its scope is expected to extend into periods associated with long-standing governance concerns at the Kenya Roads Board, particularly during the tenure of former Director General Rashid Mohammed.
Mr Mohammed’s leadership of KRB was previously characterised by repeated audit queries, complaints from road agencies over delayed or inconsistent fuel levy remittances, and concerns over weak internal controls. Several of these unresolved issues closely mirror the discrepancies now prompting parliamentary intervention, raising the possibility that the forensic audit could reopen scrutiny of decisions taken during that period.
Although the parliamentary directive does not name any individual, governance experts note that forensic audits typically reconstruct approval chains, payment authorisations, and internal correspondence—processes that were under the direct control of senior management at the time.
“A forensic audit does not just reconcile figures; it interrogates who approved what, when, and under what authority,” said a public finance analyst familiar with parliamentary oversight processes.
Critics have long argued that during Mr Mohammed’s tenure, the management of the fuel levy lacked transparency, with allegations that disbursements were selectively delayed and reconciliation between KRA collections and KRB releases remained weak. The unexplained variances flagged by the Auditor General may therefore place renewed focus on whether these gaps arose from systemic inefficiency or abuse of office.
Should the forensic audit uncover evidence of deliberate delays, unauthorized reallocations, or manipulation of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund, accountability may extend beyond current officials. Parliamentary sources indicate that former accounting officers could be summoned to explain decisions made under their watch, particularly where public funds were exposed to loss or avoidable financial penalties.
As the audit begins, lawmakers and oversight bodies are increasingly signalling that this is not merely an accounting exercise, but a test of whether long-standing governance failures within Kenya’s fuel levy system will finally be confronted—and whether past leadership decisions will withstand forensic scrutiny.
KenyanHour 