Senate County Public Accounts Committee chairperson Moses Kajwang’….Photo/IP
NAIROBI, Kenya (IP)
Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot has defended the Senate’s push to compel governors to appear before oversight committees, saying such appearances are a constitutional requirement and not optional.
Cheruiyot spoke amid a growing standoff between the Senate and the Council of Governors over summonses linked to audit queries and public spending.
He said governors are obligated by law to appear before the Senate, especially when serious accountability issues are under review.
“Governors’ appearance before the Senate is a constitutional dictate. It is not a privilege to be waived at will, particularly when there are serious accountability matters at stake across the country,” Cheruiyot said. “We can discuss any matter as a going concern, never as a threat to non-appearance.”
Senate County Public Accounts Committee chairperson Moses Kajwang’ echoed the position, saying governors cannot dictate the terms of oversight or choose when and how to appear before lawmakers.
“They want to choose who sits in committees, when they should appear and how they should be questioned. I have never seen a case where suspects demand to empanel the bench,” Kajwang’ said, adding that audit reports have revealed serious allegations of misuse of public resources.
Kajwang’ said accountability is a constitutional obligation owed to citizens, not a favor extended to Parliament, warning that resistance to Senate summons undermines public confidence in county governments.
The dispute follows a decision by governors to threaten a boycott of Senate sessions, accusing lawmakers of harassment and political witch-hunts, while senators maintain they are carrying out a constitutional mandate to oversee county spending.
Kenya’s courts have previously affirmed that the Senate has constitutional authority to summon governors to provide information and answer questions related to county governance and finances.
Recent sessions have seen governors face intense questioning over audit queries and financial management, turning Senate committee rooms into what observers might call a national stage production titled “Where Did The Money Go — Director’s Cut.”
During recent sittings, Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya and Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka were among county chiefs subjected to prolonged, detailed questioning — the kind where senators move from broad policy questions to individual line items with the patience of auditors and the persistence of debt collectors.
In Trans Nzoia, Natembeya was pressed over stalled health infrastructure projects, expired medical supplies in county facilities and billions of shillings committed to hospital projects that senators said were yet to translate into fully operational services.
Senators demanded timelines, procurement records and proof of value for money, at times repeating questions when answers drifted into general policy speeches.
Natembeya defended his administration, saying some challenges were inherited from previous leadership while others were linked to national supply chains. The defence, however, struggled to answer why expired drugs appeared easier to deliver than completed hospital infrastructure.
He assured senators that reforms were underway and systems were being strengthened, with much of the explanation framed around corrective plans — a tense of speech that has quietly become a permanent resident in Kenyan public finance discussions.
Senators also questioned water sector management and internal financial controls, noting instances where funds appeared to move faster than services reached residents.
In Bungoma, Lusaka faced equally sustained grilling over unpaid pension deductions, salary arrears and accounting inconsistencies that left senators demanding reconciliation of figures running into hundreds of millions of shillings.
Lawmakers questioned how statutory deductions could be taken from workers but remain unremitted for years, effectively turning retirement benefits into long-term government IOUs.
Lusaka told senators many liabilities predated his administration and said his government had begun clearing arrears and restructuring financial management systems — a defence senators pushed back on, asking how long transitional blame can reasonably last before it becomes current responsibility.
He also faced questions over spending priorities, with lawmakers challenging how county systems sometimes mobilize funds for non-essential expenditures faster than they can settle legally required worker payments.
Across committees, senators have insisted the hearings are not political theatre but constitutional oversight, even as the sessions occasionally produce moments of unintended comedy — particularly when billion-shilling expenditures are explained using phrases like “ongoing reconciliation” and “system transition.”
Civil society groups echoed similar sentiments.
Phillip Wekesa Wanyonyi of the Center for Human Rights Watch said leaders must consistently submit to oversight.
“We can’t have leadership that chooses when to be accountable. Our Constitution must be obeyed and governors and any other leader must obey the law.
But we are still at a rudimentary level of civilisation if leadership is still debating on whether to be accountable or not,” Wanyonyi said.
Public reactions have also been sharp. Kariuki Dominic said governors should not resist scrutiny.
“I bet those governors want to eat public funds without being questioned. In fact, through those appearances, we are able to see how some of them are uncultured swines,” he said.
