Governors to boycott Senate oversight committee over claims of extortion

Council of Governors chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi. [Jenipher Wachie, Standard]

Governors have suspended their appearances before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC), accusing unnamed members of the oversight body of extorting money from them ahead of scheduled sittings.

They also claim that the committee has turned into an arena where senators abuse the powers bestowed on them to settle political differences with governors, terming it a “witch hunt” fashioned as sessions to demand accountability for billions of taxpayer funds disbursed to the devolved units.

Speaking in Kilifi, at the ongoing Governors’ Retreat, Council of Governors (CoG) chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi announced that the county bosses would only soften their stance after a meeting with the Senate leadership to address their grievance.

“CoG notes with great concern the continuous and escalating extortion, political witch hunt, harassment, intimidation, and humiliation of Excellency governors by certain senators when they appear before the committee,” said Abdulahi.

“The Council has resolved that governors will not appear before CPAC until these concerns are addressed through a structured engagement between the leadership of the council and the leadership of the Senate.”

At the same time, the governors have questioned numerous summonses to appear before the County Public Investments Committee (CPIC) to answer questions on various funds under their watch, stating that moving forward, each of them will only face senators once per audit cycle.

Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, however, noted that the decisions must not be misconstrued to mean a tug of war with the Senate and its committees and further clarified that only specific senators were in their crosshairs.

“We have an issue with only four senators. They know themselves. They are extortionists who harass and intimidate the governors; they even leverage political maneuvers," he said.

The committee is chaired by Homabay Senator Moses Kajwang. Its members include Johnes Mwaruma, Edwin Sifuna, Samson Cherarkey, Okong'o Mogeni, Enoch Wambua, and Fatuma Dullo.

Others include Steve Lelegwe, Gataya Mwenda, Richard Onyonka, and Karungo Thangwa.

Governors appearing before the committee last week were hard-pressed to explain irregular expenditure in their counties, such as the Sh3.6 million spent on a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Bungoma in 2019.
 
In a tense sitting with the committee on January 27, Vihiga governor Wilber Ottichilo faced difficulties answering queries regarding Sh5 million spent on a housewarming party for the county assembly speaker’s official residence.