Australia-Kenya: Lucy Gichuhi, first African-born senator accused of embezzlement
Australian Senator Lucy Gichuhi, who was sworn into the Australian parliament last year, is accused of embezzlement.
A native of Kenya, Lucy Gichuhi is the first African-born political figure to serve in the Australian Federal Parliament.
According to an article published Saturday by Herald Sun, the Liberal senator will reimburse thousands of Australian dollars after she used a portion of the taxpayers (US $2139) to pay for the plane tickets of two family members on occasion of her 50th birthday, which was held in Adelaide.
Reacting to the accusations, the 50-year-old senator said she had made a commitment to repay all of the money.
“It was an administrative error involving a misunderstanding of the travel rules. I made an invoice to pay the 2139 dollars in full,” she wrote on her Twitter account Saturday.
Regarding the media reports about my travel expenses, this was an administrative error involving misunderstanding of travel rules.
I’ve raised an invoice from the department to pay the costs of $2139 in full.
— Lucy Gichuhi (@senatorlucy) June 17, 2018
Lucy Gichuihi’s candidacy for the Senate sparked controversy in Australia. Critics accused her of not giving up his Kenyan citizenship, saying that an Australian senator can not have dual nationality.
After a difficult childhood in Kenya, Lucy Gichuhi emigrated to Australia with her husband and three children. In 2001, she obtained Australian citizenship before continuing her law studies.
