Treasury PS Kiptoo faces fines after skipping 16 Parliamentary summons

The National Assembly Special Funds Accounts Committee has summoned Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo to physically appear on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, after he failed to honour 16 previous summons.

The committee had invited the PS to deliberate on audit queries linked to 14 funds under his docket, whose reports date as far back as the 2017/2018 Financial Year. 

During the meeting, two directors from the National Treasury and the CEO of the Equalization Fund appeared before the Committee, accompanied by other officials. 

When asked to explain the PS’s whereabouts, the officials claimed that Kiptoo was on official duty in Washington D.C.

“The Principal Secretary, National Treasury has failed to appear before the Committee that oversights funds under your purview sixteen times," stated North Imenti MP Rahim Dawood, the committee Vice-Chairperson and meeting session-chair.

Dawood read out all 16 dates of the PS’s non-attendance from March 2023 to October 2025, terming it a "clear act of disregard” for Parliament's mandate to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of public resources. 

Mbooni MP Kivasu Nzioka echoed the sentimentS, saying the PS’s continued absence and lack of communication is a cause for concern. 

According to a brief tabled before the Committee, the PS oversees 14 key funds, including the Equalization Fund, Petroleum Development Levy Fund, European Widows and Orphans Pensions Fund, and the Credit Guarantee Scheme; all of which have pending audit backlogs. 

Further, out of the 50 funds scrutinized by the Committee, the 14 under the National Treasury remain outstanding due to the PS’s absence.

According to Dawood, the PS may be liable to pay fines not exceeding Ksh.500,000 on any person who fails to comply with summons in line with the National Assembly's Standing Order 191A. 

"Where a witness summoned does not appear, or appears but fails to satisfy the House or committee, the House or Committee may impose upon the witness a fine not exceeding Ksh.500,000, having regard to the witness’ condition in life and all the circumstances of the case," reads part of the Standing Orders. 

A spot-check on PS Kiptoo’s X account reveals that he was actively engaged in official meetings during the period he failed to appear before the committee.

On October 8, 2025, the PS shared photos of meetings held at his office with Dr. Donal Brown, Associate Vice President of IFAD, and Mariatu Kamara, IFAD Country Director for Kenya.

Just a day earlier, he was pictured participating in a Special Development Partners Roundtable at the Sarova Panafric Hotel in Nairobi.