Principals before the Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education. Photo: The Star
Listen to this article3 min listenAI voice
Tap play to hear this story
You are listening to Kibra News Network.
MPs tell principals the millions their schools pay to Kessha are illegal.
Principals of some of Kenya's biggest secondary schools have been told by MPs that the money their schools send to the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association is illegal and must be rerouted to school accounts.
The National Assembly's Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education, chaired by Luanda MP Dick Maungu, is going through Auditor-General reports for 2020/21 to 2024/25. Alliance Girls paid about Sh6 million to Kessha and another school about Sh5 million. Schools examined include Ng'iya Girls, Maseno, Bunyore Girls, Chavakali Boys, Maranda, Kisumu Girls, Alliance High, Kiambu High and Mang'u High.
What the MPs said
"If you convert them into all the schools in the country, there are billions going to Kessha, and we want to find out whether Kessha is a recipient of public money," Maungu said. "Until a law is in place, the deductions are illegal and must be rerouted to school accounts." Central Imenti MP Moses Kirema asked: "Was there a letter from the ministry to allow you send money to an amorphous institution? Does it get audited? It gets millions." Kiminini MP Maurice Kakai Bisau said Kessha "remains a private club, a private organisation managed by principals".
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu classed the payments as irregular, saying Kessha is essentially a welfare association whose subscriptions should be paid by principals themselves, not from school funds.
What the principals said
"There is no law, what guided is the love of our work of teaching and developing talent," said Loreto High School Limuru principal Lenah Ngesa. Maseno School principal Peter Owino Otieno said that without paying, "the institution's students are completely locked out and disallowed from participating in sports, drama, music or regional competitions".
The committee will summon Kessha officials to explain how the money is used, and Ministry of Education officials to say whether they authorised the payments.
Sources: The Star, Capital FM, Business Daily
That was a Kibra News Network report, read by an A I voice.
Principals of some of Kenya’s biggest secondary schools have been told by MPs that the money their schools send to the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association is illegal and must be rerouted to school accounts.
The National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education, chaired by Luanda MP Dick Maungu, is going through Auditor-General reports for 2020/21 to 2024/25. Alliance Girls paid about Sh6 million to Kessha and another school about Sh5 million. Schools examined include Ng’iya Girls, Maseno, Bunyore Girls, Chavakali Boys, Maranda, Kisumu Girls, Alliance High, Kiambu High and Mang’u High.
What the MPs said
“If you convert them into all the schools in the country, there are billions going to Kessha, and we want to find out whether Kessha is a recipient of public money,” Maungu said. “Until a law is in place, the deductions are illegal and must be rerouted to school accounts.” Central Imenti MP Moses Kirema asked: “Was there a letter from the ministry to allow you send money to an amorphous institution? Does it get audited? It gets millions.” Kiminini MP Maurice Kakai Bisau said Kessha “remains a private club, a private organisation managed by principals”.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu classed the payments as irregular, saying Kessha is essentially a welfare association whose subscriptions should be paid by principals themselves, not from school funds.
What the principals said
“There is no law, what guided is the love of our work of teaching and developing talent,” said Loreto High School Limuru principal Lenah Ngesa. Maseno School principal Peter Owino Otieno said that without paying, “the institution’s students are completely locked out and disallowed from participating in sports, drama, music or regional competitions”.
The committee will summon Kessha officials to explain how the money is used, and Ministry of Education officials to say whether they authorised the payments.
KNN Newsroom is the staff byline for stories written, rewritten and edited at the Kibra News Network desk. Where a story credits an outside outlet, the original source is linked at the foot of the piece.
