It's not too late to heed calls, governors told

Senators have asked governors who have defied their summons to reconsider their position as they lauded one county chief for showing up.

The legislators clarified that there will be no collective condemnation of county bosses, but only those who remain defiant will face sanctions.

They commended Samburu Governor Moses Lenolkulal for appearing before the Public Accounts and Investment committee to respond to financial queries by Auditor General Edward Ouko after the Council of Governors resolved not to honour the summons.

"The governor has decided to comply with the law. This spirit should be emulated by his colleagues to avoid this standoff on accountability, "said Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki.

Kindiki argued the decision by the governor to respond to Sh29 million questioned by Ouko and Sh887,000 did not make him a lesser governor.

"No one will get away with accountability issues. The governors must clear any questions raised to our satisfaction," reiterated the Tharaka Nithi senator.

This comes as the Senate on Tuesday wrote to National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich to withhold funds meant for Kisumu, Muranga, Kiambu and Bomet counties, after their governors defied committee summons.

Lenolkulal said he took a personal decision to clear the air on accountability concerns by backing his defence with relevant documents.