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Former National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has been summoned by Members of Parliament to explain his involvement in the controversial Sh6 billion Telkom Kenya buyout.
Yatani, who served during the tenure of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, will appear before the joint Departmental Committee on Finance and Planning, as well as the Committee on Communication, Information, and Innovation.
Another official summoned to respond to the queries is former Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua. The MPs' decision was reached during a sitting on Thursday as the investigation enters a critical phase.
The probe aims to establish how the government made payments to allegedly buy Telkom shares from private entities days before the last general election.
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Several government officials, both current and former, have been summoned to appear before the joint panel following Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakangó's revelation that she was coerced by Uhuru's associates to authorize the payments.
Despite the Treasury acquiring a 60% stake in Telkom Kenya from UK-based Helios Investment Partners for Sh6.09 billion, making the company fully state-owned, the purchase was one of the many expenditures that the Treasury incurred without Parliament's approval.
Telkom Kenya denied involvement in the acquisition, stating that it had neither received nor disbursed any funds relating to the exit of Jamhuri Holding Limited (JHL) and is therefore unaware of any details of payees, account particulars, and amounts paid.
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Yatani is the first Cabinet Secretary from the previous administration to be summoned to provide explanations regarding actions taken during their term in office.
This is the second time Ukur Yatani is being implicated in a dubious scandal. Controller of budget Margaret Nyakang'o claimed that she was threatened to release Sh6 billion for the purchase of Telcos and Sh9.5 billion from the annuity fund a few days before the elections.
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To prove her allegations, Margaret Nyakang'o produced conversations she says she had with former Treasury CS Ukur Yatani.
"Please help us expedite this," is believed to be one of the messages that Yatani wrote to Nyakang'o at 3:33 pm on August 4, 2022.
Yatani however defended himself saying the Sh15billion claimed to have been looted was partly used in maize and fuel subsidies, as well as the construction of a modern referral hospital facility for Kenya's Defence Forces.