Thursday, 24th July, 2025

Clerk, do we have quorum?

Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

We now have quorum. So, we will proceed with the afternoon's business. Clerk, kindly, call the first Order.

Hon. Senators, I wish to report to the Senate that pursuant to Standing Order No.47 (1) , I have received the following Message from His Excellency the President on the nomination of Mr. Pius Ang’asa for appointment as a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) , for consideration by Parliament.

The Message was transmitted to the Senate vide the letter reference EOP/CAB.26/4A, Volume 6/ 171, dated 21st July, 2025 by the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, Mr. Felix K. Kosgei, EGH. Pursuant to the said Standing Order, I now report the Message.

You are most graciously notified that His Excellency the President has in exercise of the constitutional prerogative vested in the Head of State and Government, made a nomination to the membership of the Central Bank of Kenya. This presidential action is pursuant to Section 11(2) of the Central Bank of Kenya Act, Cap.491 Laws of Kenya, which states as follows-

“The Chairperson and Directors shall be appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament.”

In that regard and in accordance with Section 5 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act Cap.7(F) of the Laws of Kenya, kindly be pleased to receive the nomination of Mr. Pius Ang’asa for appointment as a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Kenya for consideration by Parliament.

To facilitate the consideration and approval processes of the August House, we are pleased to submit Certificate of Presidential Nomination No.8 of 2025 along with the Curriculum Vitae (CV) and testimonials of the nominee.

In light of the Central Bank of Kenya's crucial role in formulating and implementing monetary policy to achieve and maintain price stability, Parliament is kindly requested to prioritise the consideration of the nominee.

Hon. Senators, the period on the matter that is now before Parliament starts running upon the Speakers of the Houses of Parliament committing the name of the nominee to the relevant committees in the Senate and in the National Assembly.

Standing Order No.771 of the Senate Standing Orders provides that upon receipt of a notification of nomination for appointment to a public office under the Constitution or any other legislation which requires approval by the Senate, the nomination shall stand committed to the relevant Standing Committee for consideration.

This being the case, the Message from His Excellency the President, together with the CV and testimonials of the nominee, stands committed to the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget for approval hearing.

The Committee will hold the approval hearing jointly with the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning of the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Central Bank of Kenya Act, the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act and the Standing Orders of the Houses of Parliament.

Part XXVI (Joint Committees of Parliament) of the Senate Standing Orders and the corresponding part of the National Assembly Standing Orders shall apply during the approval hearing. I direct the committees to expeditiously consider this matter and to table a report thereon.

I thank you. (The Message was committed to the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget) Next Order.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the Senate Majority Leader, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate today, 24th July, 2025-

The Annual Report of the Office of the Controller of Budget (CoB) , for the Financial Year 2023-2024.

I thank you.

Next Order.

We start with Statements pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) .

Proceed, Senator for Nairobi City County, Sen. Sifuna.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity. I have two Statements. I request that I take both of them at once.

Proceed, Sen. Chute.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise under Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations regarding the protocols and safeguards governing the

sharing of subscriber data between communication services and security agencies in Kenya.

In the Statement, the Committee should-

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Roads, Transport and Housing regarding the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) recent announcement on the expansion of Kiambu Road into a four- lane highway and the controversial provision that only Chinese contractors or consortia led by Chinese firms are eligible to apply for these contracts.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in its public advertisement, KeNHA invited bids for the Kiambu Road expansion project, but included an explicit requirement restricting eligibility to Chinese contractors or firms led by Chinese entities.

This condition raises serious concerns about the fairness, inclusivity, legality of this procurement process, particularly in view of our constitutional principles on competition, non-discrimination and value for money in public procurement.

In that Statement, the Committee should address the following-

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Energy on a matter of countywide concern regarding the quality and durability of solar energy products such as Solar Panda Delight sold to residents of Kwale County.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, residents in many rural parts of Kwale County lack access to grid electricity and have to rely on solar-powered lamps supplied by solar energy solution providers for some of their energy needs. However, the residents have expressed concern that these lamps often become faulty after a short period and that due to lack of repair services, they are forced to purchase other units.

In the Statement, the Committee should address the following-

Statement pursuant to Standing Order No.57 (1) . Proceed, the Senate Majority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order No.57 (1) , I hereby present the business of the Senate for the week commencing 29th July 2025.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, before I proceed to the Statement, allow me to take this opportunity to laud hon. Senators for ensuring the passage of the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No.9 of 2025) and the Equalisation Fund Appropriation Bill, (Senate Bills No.7 of 2025) during a sitting that was held on Tuesday, 22nd July 2025 and the County Governments Additional Allocations (No.2) , (Senate Bills No.8 of 2025) that was passed on 23rd July 2025.

These Bills are crucial financial instruments that have an implication on the operations of the counties. I urge that this spirit continues in order to prosecute business before the Senate in a timely manner. However, this is not the end on these Bills. I undertake to engage the leadership of the National Assembly to ensure expeditious consideration of Bills.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, as of now, this is the status of legislative business.

Question No.44 to the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration by Sen. Edwin Sifuna, CBS, MP. Question No.49 to the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration by Sen. Shakila Abdalla, MP.

There is also Question No. 51 to the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration by Sen. Catherine Mumma, MP; Question No.54, 56, and 59 to the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration by Sen. James Lomenen, MP; Question No.62 to the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration by Sen. Joyce Korir, CBS, MP; Question No.72 to the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration by Sen. Kathuri Murungi, MGH, MP; and, Question No.94 to the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration by Sen. Justice, Rt Stewart Madzayo, EGH, MP.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the tentative business for the afternoon sitting on Wednesday, 30th July, 2025, will include business not concluded from Tuesday's Order Paper and the following businesses-

Hon. Senators, I will allow comments for 20 minutes. If you get the Floor, kindly, take not more than two minutes to contribute.

Senator for Nandi County, Sen. Cherarkey, proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you. I support the Statement by the Senator for Nairobi City County on the issue of accommodation among our students. For some of us who have been to university, we can imagine the deplorable situations. Even slums look better than most of the hostels that we are seeing in most of these universities.

There is even an exorbitant price of over Kshs40,000 being charges for accommodation and yet, there is no substantive work that has been done. Can you believe that you will still find bedbugs in most of our universities? Can you believe our comrades are being eaten by bedbugs?

This is the hub of serious knowledge, engagement and discourse. The bedbugs are making comrades have restless sleep. We used to say that when the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) money came, you would first eat like a king by eating chicken, then you eat what the chicken eats and then you eat the chicken itself. It is very unfortunate.

I appeal to the Government to include hostels in the affordable housing programme, so as to make life bearable for the comrades. I felt very bad that they were demonstrating over a basic need. We should be discussing about science and innovation in our universities.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, finally, I agree with Sen. Onyonka on the issue of the Chinese. I had a legislative proposal that contracts below Kshs1 billion should exclusively belong to Kenyans. Can you believe that the Chinese and other nationals are doing contracts of Kshs300 million and Kshs200 million? What will happen to our local contractors?

I challenge the Committee on Finance and Budget to approve my legislative proposal that contracts worth Kshs1 billion and below should exclusively belong to Kenyans. I support all these Statements.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Sen. Wambua, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise in support of the Statement by Sen. Sifuna on the matter of the cases of killings happening at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) . It is a very sad situation that the biggest teaching and referral hospital in Kenya, where patients are supposed to feel safe and secure, are now living under fear because they do not know who is the next to be attacked within the facility.

Something needs to be done very fast to salvage the image of that institution. Talking about safety, even in our own precincts in Parliament, I had an incident this afternoon. I was sitting having lunch with a colleague when somebody

walked to us and said to me that I look familiar. He went further to ask if I am a member of some funny organisation that he mentioned, I cannot remember the name. I said that I am not and he said that he is sorry, he thought I was the one and then he walked away.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we also need to ensure that Members within the precincts of Parliament are also safe. We are having a lot of people accessing the precincts of Parliament, which is okay. However, it should be done in a way that we are also safe and secure. We do not want situations such as the ones happening at the KNH happening within the precincts of Parliament. That should be taken very seriously.

I thank you.

Sen. Boni, proceed.

The issue raised by the Senator for Nairobi City County on the cost of accommodation at the university is very serious. In fact, I would like that the Committee goes further and looks into the new funding model. When universities heard that the new funding model had been brought into effect, they responded by raising the fees.

Allow me to just bring to the attention of the House that I have been pursuing this disaster and I have found that faculties have increased school fees by as high as 138 per cent in the Faculty of Engineering, 105 per cent in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 81 per cent in the Faculty of Medicine and so on and so forth. The net effect is the high cost of university education. Whereas the old model was allowing parents to pay that small fee, with this increment, even with the Government paying the higher fee using the means of testing, children are not able to afford the balance.

We have to look at it critically and ask ourselves if we want this to be a country of people who come from the wash-wash background or a country that will have young professionals like Eddy with good education. A person who may---

Sen. Kavindu, proceed.

Asante, Bw. Spika, kwa kunipa fursa hii ili nichangie hizi kauli mbalimbali haswa hii ambayo imeletwa na Sen. Sifuna, Seneta wa Kaunti ya Nairobi, kuhusu usalama wa wagonjwa pale KNH.

Inahuzunisha sana kwa sababu mgonjwa hutoka nyumbani anaenda hospitalini ili atibiwe, apone na arudi nyumbani akiwa mzima. Ni ajabu kwamba hata sasa hivi wagonjwa wale wako pale hospitalini wakikumbuka ya kwamba wawili wamechinjwa pale kama ng’ombe au mbuzi - mtu anakatwa shingo hadi kufa - hata kupona kwao haitakuwa rahisi. Hii ni kwa sababu wako na hofu ya kwamba wao ndio watajichinjwa baadaye.

Bw. Spika, tuko na walinzi wa usalama wengi sana. Sioni ni kwa nini Wizara ya Afya haiwezi kuitisha walinzi wa usalama wa kutosha kukaa pale ili kulinda wagonjwa. Hii inamaanisha kwamba hata sisi tukitembea huku nje, hatuna usalama dhidi ya waovu.

Pia, kuna hili jambo ambalo wagonjwa wanapona na wanabaki pale hospitalini bila kuachiliwa. Inasemekana ya kwamba wengine hawana makwao; hakuna mtu ambaye

hana kwao. Serikali inafaa iwaangalie watu kama wale na iwajengee nyumba ili wapelekwe kule wakae kama nyumbani kwao.

Kwa wale ambao hawaondoki hospitalini kwa sababu ya kukosa kulipa ada ya hospitali---

Sen. Chute, proceed.

Thank, you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise in support of the Statement by Sen. Onyonka. He brought up some very important issues. The issue is not a problem on the road in Kiambu only. It is in the whole country. The problem we are faced with is that Chinese companies are being given contracts. You can find Chinese traders doing some work in markets such as Chuka, Meru and Marsabit.

There is an issue that was brought by Sen. Cherarkey. He proposed that contracts below Kshs1 billion should be done by locals. The companies that are working in Kenya today on roads and buildings are mainly Chinese. If you look at those Kenyan companies, which are working in Kenya, they have pending bills to the tune of about Kshs156 billion in the counties and Kshs426 billion nationally.

Most of these monies are supposed to be paid to local contractors. The Chinese contractors can afford to wait for the monies because they are being financed by their governments. What about the local contractors? They are suffering.

There were riots in Kenya a few days ago. Shops were looted and people complained about the losses they incurred. That is a problem. However, after a few days, insurance companies compensated them. Local contractors are being given jobs and they are not being paid. There is no insurance that will pay for monies that are supposed to be paid by the Government.

Sen. Richard Onyonka, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. My contribution is on the question that has been asked about why universities are increasing university accommodation fees. It is true that we, in the opposition, sometimes just talk about the problem. Today, I want to give a solution to the Government.

Why can the Government not do hostels in all our universities in the Republic of Kenya instead of all these affordable housing units, which nobody wants? If you do these hostels, we know the rent is not going to be more than Kshs5,000 per month. These hostels will pay themselves because the parents are already paying, anyway. Why are we building houses in places with trees and cows and no people, places such as Nyandarua, Sen. Methu’s constituencies? Can we, please, build hostels for our universities and even our secondary schools because the Government can recover the money?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Sen. Murgor.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to also air my views.

I support the Statement made by the Senator for Nairobi City County about the increase of hostel fees in our universities. A Member has just said that this will mean that the children of well-to-do and children of the people that are able to pay will be the ones who will be housed in those hostels. Therefore, children of poor people, the commoners, will not be accommodated in the hostels in our universities. That will drive children of

the common mwananchi into places that are not desirable and running into many situations in streets that are not likeable. The children of the commoners will suffer and probably drop out of universities because their parents cannot afford. This is heading the wrong way.

Thank you very much.

Hon. Senators, before I call the next Member to speak, allow me to make this Communication.

I would like to acknowledge the presence in the gallery this afternoon, of visiting student leaders and members of the Young Diplomats Forum from the United States International University, Africa (USIU) . The delegation comprises 40 student leaders, including the members of the student government, electoral college and cabinet, as well as participants of the Young Diplomats Forum.

The delegation is in the Senate for mentorship sessions with the Senate directorates. Hon. Senators, in our usual tradition of receiving and welcoming visitors to Parliament, I extend a warm welcome to them and on behalf of the Senate and my own behalf, wish them a fruitful visit.

I call upon the Senator for Nairobi City County, in under one minute to extend a warm welcome.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir ---

Senator for Nairobi, just take your seat. What is your point of clarification, Deputy Speaker?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you know it is the tradition of the House; when you read such a Communication, Senators should applaud that delegation. I was communicating to my brother here that Senators are not learning how the House behaves or--- Some of them are very senior Members here. Nobody is thumping. It is only me who did it.

You have made your point clear. Thank you for passing that information to your colleagues.

The Senator for Nairobi City County, you may proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I want to alert the Senator for Meru that there is another tradition that when delegations come to visit us, we must buy them lunch. Now that you have insisted on the traditions of this House, the students from the USIU must know that lunch today will be from the Senator for Meru.

Sen. Madzayo. The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Madzayo) :

Asante, Mstahiki Spika. Kwanza

What is your point of order, Senator for Homa Bay?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the 10 years I have been in this House, I have never seen money change hands so openly, so brazenly on the Floor of this House. This House is degenerating into that market where Jesus came in and whipped everybody and threw them out. Could you declare the Deputy Speaker to be completely out of order for flashing money, coming across the aisle and handing over money to Sen. Sifuna? We do not know for what reason he is handing over the money. Maybe he is bribing Sifuna to go and burn the House again tonight on TV.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, could you just declare that to be completely out of order? We cannot be doing money exchange in this House. We cannot be doing those things that Sen. Dullo was calling Soko huru in this House. It is completely demeaning and unbecoming for us to be flashing and doing commercial transactions in this very hallowed Chamber.

Senator for Homa Bay, unfortunately, the Speaker did not see it. For me to rule on that matter, it requires evidence. If I need to require evidence,

you know the route we will take. We will have to put the Deputy Speaker under oath, so that he can also defend himself. That route is not desirable.

So, let us leave the matter where it is. Proceed, Senator Madzayo.

Asante, Mstahiki Spika. Kwanza, nampa kongole ndugu yangu, Sifuna, kwa sababu ya kuleta hii Taarifa ambayo inahusikana na mambo ya ulinzi ndani ya Kenyatta National Hospital.

Kama kuna hospitali kubwa humu nchini Kenya ambayo kila Mkenya anaitegemea; hata akiwa mgonjwa huko Makadara, Coast General Hospital ama akiwa Kisumu au North Eastern, sote tunategemea Kenyatta National Hospital kama hospitali ambayo iko na madaktari wa kudumu na wale wanaoelewa mambo mengi ya matibabu. Leo hii, ni jambo la kusitikitisha kwamba mtu anaweza kukatwa kama kuku; kichwa kinakatwa na kinatolewa na yule mtu aliyefanya hivyo, hawezi kukamatwa na kupelekwa kortini ama akaonekana akiua mtu. Hivi juzi wamemshika mtu ambaye hawajui kama ni yeye. Huyu mtu amekataa mashtaka hayo, akasema siye. Sasa tunauliza kitu kimoja, tunataka Serikali - Kamati itakayopewa hii taarifa ili iweze kuchukua hatua na kuangalia ni nini - ni jambo la kusikitisha hivi sasa tukisema ya kwamba hakuna utetezi wa aina yoyote kwa wagonjwa ndani ya Kenyatta National Hospital. Ninataka hatua ichukuliwe haraka iwezekanavyo ili mgonjwa na yeyote atakaye kwenda pale awe na uhakiki wa maisha yake; na ugonjwa wake utatibiwa sawa sawa, apone na arudi nyumbani.

Asante, Bw. Spika.

Sen. Kisang.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I want to comment on the Statement by Sen. Chute on sharing of data between telecommunication operators and the security system.

We passed a law in 2019; the Data Protection Act. It is very clear that if the telcos are to share any data, they have to get access either by consent of the concerned persons or through a court order. This is a very important Statement, so that we know what has been happening, because we are exposed. We do not want to be exposed and there is a law that already protects us.

The second Statement I wanted to comment on is the one by Sen. Onyonka, concerning the road between Muthaiga and Kiambu. They want to construct a dual carriageway and the tender is restricted only to Chinese companies. Around 2020 or thereabout, we passed a law in both this House and the National Assembly that all contracts or tenders below Kshs1 billion should be reserved for locals. Even if it is above Kshs1 billion, it is supposed to be open. You do not restrict to foreigners. This is something we need to investigate. How else can our contractors grow if we continue giving all the big contracts to foreigners? We need to grow our own homegrown companies. Safaricom is a huge company that is locally owned by Kenyans. They need to invest. Entities like pension funds, LAPFUND, LAPTRUST, and even the National

Social and Security Fund (NSSF) should be the ones doing these tenders instead of giving them to foreigners.

Thank you.

Sen. M. Kajwang’.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to contribute to this request for a Statement by Sen. Onyonka. The debate in this House might give the impression that we are xenophobic and that we are against Chinese investments or contractors. That should not be the impression. I think the key concern is ring-fencing critical infrastructure projects that can be done by local contractors.

We must promote local contractors. We must promote the local industry. The problem with contractors coming from certain jurisdictions is that they are the ones who start with a feasibility study. They come and tell us what can be done. They then go ahead and do the design, provide the financing and get their own companies to implement the project. All the materials also come from their own countries. That is not how to build an economy. We need to build roads. We need to build railways, but the raw materials must come from this country. The labour must come from this country.

It is sad that for a road project, even the insurance for the products is underwritten in foreign countries. The financing, the interest and the value derived from the projects all go abroad. I agree with Kenya’s political position on geopolitics; we face neither East nor West. We face forward, but we need to be careful about being boxed and ring-fencing jobs and contracts that can be done by locals.

I hope the Committee will expand their inquiry beyond China and also look into arrangements with the Americans, the British, especially on matters related to procurement and military supplies. We must believe in this country. We must support our local entrepreneurs and industries.

Thank you.

Sen. Abass.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I want to support and contribute to the Statement by Sen. Sifuna. Increasing the cost of living or rent for university students is going to be very dangerous. Universities are institutions where people from different parts of this country converge and most students cannot even afford housing. Many will end up living in informal settlements where they may adopt funny characters. Most of them are not exposed to city life, especially in Nairobi. As a result, their lives are at risk. Many young ladies are now being killed in unsafe hostels, lodges and hotels. Increasing hostel fees is not proper. Currently, with so many low-cost housing units being constructed, universities should be allocated some of them to provide subsidised accommodation to students.

we need to protect all communication provided by the people. We must uphold the constitutional right to privacy for all data. People are being kidnapped and taken to unknown places, even outside the country or hidden within the country. Therefore, we need our data to be protected.

Thank you.

Sen. Mumma.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity to contribute to the Statements. I would like to contribute to the two Statements by Sen. Sifuna.

The national Government is in charge of fewer than 10 health facilities. It is disturbing that Kenyatta National Hospital would be in such a state, that it would be so unsafe that people can be murdered inside the institution. Beyond that, the physical condition of Kenyatta National Hospital is, in some instances, dangerous even to patients. I have forwarded a video taken by a patient in that hospital to the Forum of Senators to highlight the deplorable conditions, yet the facility is allocated approximately Kshs500 million annually for maintenance. It receives a higher budget than some counties combined. We need to call the hospital administration to order. This is an urgent issue that the Standing Committee on Health must take seriously.

On the issue of hostels, I support what Sen. Onyonka stated. As we increase the number of universities, we need to have intergovernmental conversations to ensure housing development is prioritised. There should be a standardised charge per household and rules put in place to give priority to the neediest learners---

Sen. Tabitha Mutinda.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the Statement by my Nairobi Senator, Sen. Sifuna, regarding the security issue at the Kenyatta National Hospital. Currently, I serve as a Member of the Standing Committee on Health. Today, we were to visit Kenyatta National Hospital between 1.00 p.m. and

Sen. Mutinda, you are giving commitment that the Committee will undertake this investigation. Is it possible to give timelines on behalf of the Chairperson that a report will come to the Senate as soon as possible? Is that the promise you are giving Kenyans this afternoon?

Sen. Tabitha Mutinda: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for clarity in terms of the timelines, this is priority to us, as a Committee on Health. I also believe that in less than 30 days, the Committee can give detailed information through the Chairperson who is not present, but is still handling other matters. However, the issue of the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNA) is a priority.

Very well. Proceed, Sen, Osotsi Godfrey.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I will make comments on the Statement by Sen. Chute on the sharing of telecommunications subscriber data with security agencies.

This Statement on data privacy is important as it has been raised before in this House. The Committee on Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) should go into the deeper details of what happens because the Data Protection Act is clear that the security agencies can access private data. However, they must have a court order in order to get such data, but for security reasons.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, if we allow security agencies to have free access to subscriber data, we will be violating the privacy rights of our citizens and that is not something that our Constitution envisages. I therefore expect the relevant Committee on ICT to go deeper into this matter and give a report to this House. Also, the telecommunication agencies are violating the basic data protection principles, which are agreed globally and they can be liable at the international level.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will also comment on the Statement by Sen. Sifuna on the security of patients in our hospitals---

Proceed, Sen. Wakili Hillary Kiprotich Sigei.

The last time I got all those names called out is a while back. I appreciate the recognition of the name that you referred to.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will contribute to the Statement by Sen. Sifuna, especially on the security of patients at the KNH. The statistics about KNH are as follows. This prompted me to check on the capacity of KNH. It has 1,800 beds, 6,000 employees and it is over a century old. It is actually 122 years in service for the people of Kenya. Those statistics tells you the kind of clientele or the people that are expected to be served at this national referral hospital.

From their page, they say this is a world-class care facility and their priority is patient-centred. From that statement and the information that we have heard about a patient who was killed in the hospital, it is a reflection opposite to what we have read from the statements. It is a very sad state. A few minutes ago, we heard that the condition of the 6,000 staff or employees is deplorable. I would say that the facility itself is not fit to be world-class as they describe it and yet they are getting allocation running into billions of shillings and we cannot see where that money goes to.

Sen. Sigei, I have some sympathy with you, but I cannot help at this point.

Sen. Beth Kalunda Syengo, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to add my voice about the Statement by the Senator for Nairobi City County,

Sen. Edwin Sifuna, on the security of patients at the KNH. It is unfortunate that when patients are taken to hospital, their relatives expect them to be very safe.

We come to the end of the comments on Statements. Therefore, we will proceed to Order No. 8. First of all, confirm whether we have quorum before I put the question.

Okay, proceed, call out the number.

Thank you, Senators. Now that we have quorum, I will put the question.

Next Order. Who is holding briefly for the Senate Majority Leader?

Proceed, Sen. Boni.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to move the following Motion-

THAT, AWARE that the Senate of Kenya is established under Article 93 of the Constitution and its main role as set out at Article 96 is to represent, serve and protect the interests of the counties and their governments;

FURTHER AWARE of the critical role that the Senate plays in the interlinkage between the national and county levels of Government, and the need to enhance the interaction between the Senate and county governments, as a means of bringing the Senate closer to the counties and the general public;

ACKNOWLEDGING the successes made during the sittings of the Senate outside Nairobi held in Uasin Gishu, Kitui and Turkana counties in September, 2018, 2019 and 2023, respectively;

FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGING the recommendation of the Senate Business Committee that a sitting of the Senate be held away from the traditional premises in Parliament Buildings, Nairobi, during the term of the 13th Parliament; and the subsequent resolution of the Senate made on 8th March, 2023, to hold plenary and committee sittings in the counties for a one-week period within the month of September in every Session of the 4th Senate, except during an election year with the objective to-

Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, let me offer some guidance. Hon. Members of this House will be the beneficiaries of the trip to Busia, but I can see that they are now getting lost. What should they expect in Busia? What do we need to cover because we are talking about devolution? We will go to mashinani to see what is happening in Busia as a Senate. You are now digressing by talking about voting and presidential aspirants.

Since you are moving, let Members benefit from you as the Mover of the Motion. As a seasoned Member, you know the game. The Speaker convinced me that what you were going to move is exactly what is in the Motion.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am well guided. However, just with a little of patience, I would have announced to you that we shared roles on this

Motion. I have decided to leave the gist of the Motion to the Senator for Busia who will second me, so that he can go into the details.

When you go to Busia County, you will come to terms with the history of the political terrain of this country. Hon. Senators will discover that the first aircraft in this country to crash with Members of Parliament (MPs) and Ministers on board was in Busia where we lost some of them. One of my political heroes is Hon. Martha Karua who survived. Younger Senators like Cherarkey will not understand why Hon. Martha Karua is a hero. I hope one day, he will read the history of this nation.

In Busia County, you will have an opportunity to see the challenges of One Stop Border Post (OSBP). The OSBP has literally killed businesses because Busia is a border town. One area we used to make a lot of money was in clearing and forwarding.

When Members of the Committee on Health go to Busia County, they will see for the first time how far ahead Kenya is in terms of rolling out health services because almost 45 per cent of patients at Busia County Referral Hospital are from Uganda. We do not mind because those 45 per cent patients are not strangers, they are just Luhyas on the other side of the border. Anytime I see you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, intimidate me, I always tell myself that I have a choice of being a Kenyan or Ugandan.

When you come to Busia, you will see, with your own eyes, how Kenyans are hardworking and innovative. It is in Busia County that the modern African mode of transport called boda boda was born. In fact, I advise Members to use the traditional boda boda when they go to Busia. The traditional boda boda was not a motorbike, it was a bicycle.

How things change? When I was in the National Assembly, our colleagues used to laugh at us. They used to tell us that we come from a community that relies on bicycles for transport. Little did they know that innovativeness would become a national means of transport.

With those many words, I now invite the presidential pretender. He should understand what I mean by that word. It does not mean that he has no chance. I am referring to the claimant to the presidency, the distinguished Senator of Busia County, my own younger brother. The House does not know how this guy helped me, before he came here, to succeed as the Chairperson of the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAC). He used to give me information that I used to pin down the Government. The Senator of Busia County, I welcome you to second me.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to second this very important Motion. Indeed, the Motion was passed last time. However, due to budgetary constraints, the Senate was unable to go and sit in Busia. I hope we will not hit the same boulder or the same iceberg this time.

As the indomitable bullfighter, the Hon. Senator from Kakamega County has said, it will be an important experience for the Senate to go and sit in Busia Town and also visit the countryside. That will give them an opportunity to sample what this country has in that part of the world.

After which, they will understand the impact of politics of marginalisation on communities.

Busia County has facilities that are not available in the entire region. A good example is the prehistoric cave paintings in Kakapel that were done by pre-historic

human beings. I hope the Senate will go there to see it. Unfortunately, the area is hardly developed and utilized. If you look at similar sites in Namibia, which I think is the nearest in comparison, you will not believe what is happening there.

Many Senators will be surprised to learn that Busia County has a big part of Lake Victoria. I would love for them to visit Samia and Bunyala regions and see how neglected water transport is. They will notice that it is quite a herculean task for people to move from one island to another. They will also witness the silting that has brought a lot of flooding to the region thus the rivers do not flow into the lake.

We will also be able to look at hardship areas in Busia; Bunyala, Samia and Teso North. Those areas have clearly been indicated as hardship areas yet people who are sent to work there are not paid hardship allowances. The schools also do not get those hardship allowances. The Senators will see the kind of challenges we have in a land of huge potential. They will also see the destruction of wetlands as a result of sugarcane farming.

I hope they will also visit the Yala Swamp, which we are told is about 17,000 hectares with 11,000 hectares in Busia County and 6,000 hectares in Siaya County. Unfortunately, all decisions governing the swamp are largely made in Siaya County with Busia County left holding the short end of the stick.

This will be a good opportunity for the Senators to see that the county is not performing very well in terms of service delivery. The Senate sitting in Busia will help us audit and ferret out some of the issues that are leading to underdevelopment. I have finished a forensic audit for Busia County’s Financial Year 2022/2023. I do not know if there is any other Senator in this House who does forensic audits of their counties. I have done that forensic audit and will be releasing the results tomorrow. The picture is sad.

In terms of public money, Busia County is a crime scene. This is because there is a lot of abuse of public funds given to the county government. I hope the feet of the Governor and that of his team will be held to the fire when the Senate comes to Busia, for us to get some accountability on the ground.

The Senators will see for themselves the level of underdevelopment. They will see how one will need to wear gumboots to move around right in the town centre when it rains. They will also see the airstrip that my senior has referred to, where the airplane crashed. That land was grabbed. Right now, I am litigating in court to get it back.

I am happy to report that my litigation was made a bit easy when Hon. Justin Muturi was the Attorney General. Before that, the Office of the Attorney General was supporting the grabbers. Hon. Muturi came in, gave the correct record and we are now waiting for a verdict in court. In fact, the hearing over that airstrip is on Wednesday. You will see that.

The Senators will also see the congestion of the tracks. The OSBP came, but when you stand on the Kenyan side and as the crow flies, look across the border to the Ugandan side, you will wonder why the infrastructure in the Ugandan side is much superior to the Kenyan side, yet the financier and allocations were the same. It is a very sad situation for us, because even when you travel to Namanga and then you cross over to Tanzania, that was funding by the same developer. The road on the Kenyan side is narrower and full of potholes. On the Tanzanian side, the road has been done according

to the textbook. You will also see that in Malaba and Busia. There is also a border crossing point in Busia that was gazetted years ago.

We had had a webinar today where people from Busia County were discussing it. It was gazetted, the Ugandan side have done the infrastructure, but the Kenyan side there is nothing to write home. It would have helped ease the congestion that we usually experience in those towns. Therefore, you wonder what is happening and why we gazette those kinds of things.

It has also been noted that Busia County is only part of Kenya that has the great apes. In Swahili, they are called Sokwe mtu. They are also called Ichomu. There is a place called Ngelechomu - the land of the great apes.

Sometime in 1952, the colonial government excised some lands, about 300 acres, for the preservation of the apes. However, that land has been encroached on and all the trees have been cut away. The apes have moved to Uganda, to the Bwindi impenetrable forest and have abandoned Kenya.

You will see that vast land sitting there and maybe the Senate will have a chance to look at it and ask: “What do we do with this land?” I have been engaged in a very active recovery of that land, trying to push away the encroachers who wanted to turn it into sugarcane farms. These are the unique things because people are going to Uganda to see great apes. We had them in Kenya, but we have looked after them.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is great potential for tourism. We have a lake, historic sites and great apes, but the place is poor. Nobody cares about it. Some of these things do not require the intervention of the governor because they are national. We all know the governor came in the other day in the advent of devolution. We have had Independence from 1963. Why were they not developed like other parts of the country? Was it an idle talk when Idi Amin said that the border of Uganda is in Naivasha? It was not because that area was totally neglected.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need to look at historical injustice. Yes, the governors have committed their sins, but theirs are not the original sin. Their sins are basically transactional. You have structural sins in this country that need to be addressed. Therefore, when you come to Busia, you will be able to see what we are talking about.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the governor will have to be held to account and I will support that. I will be releasing my forensic audit report tomorrow and you will see what I have unearthed. I will urge every Senator to try and do forensic audits on the accounts of their county governments to see the kind of problems we are facing.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am excited and prepared to host the people of Kenya in Busia County. By the Senate going to Busia, it underscores my statement that no Senator is just of a county. Senators are of the Republic of Kenya, but they come from counties.

An

Including nominated Senators.

Yes! In fact, nominated Senators have bigger constituencies. When you go to Busia, you will be going there as Senators of Kenya to Busia. You will go as a Senator of Kenya from the great people of Meru County. You will not go there as the Senator for Meru County.

to be in Busia as the Senator of the Republic of Kenya from Meru and you can ask any question.

That is why it is very important that this House adopts the correct phraseology when referring to Senators and the National Assembly does equally the same. What is this business of saying Senator for Nandi County? Sen. Cherarkey is a Senator for Kenya. He only comes from Nandi. When he votes here, he makes a law that covers the whole country. If he blocks a law here, the entire country does not get that law. So, we must get the correct phraseology to give ourselves the mindset to understand who we are.

We cannot deliver on our mandate if we do not know who we are. We are not village boys. Therefore, by coming to Busia County, you will be coming as Senators of the Republic of Kenya who have got every right to be in Busia and to exercise authority.

My governor cannot even go and say anything in Siaya. He is a foreigner there, but Sen. Cherarkey can go to Wajir and gauge, charge, crow and do everything he wants to do there. So, let us get the correct phraseology of who we are. This is an opportunity to understand that. I really get offended when we talk of a Senator for Nairobi City County. How? Sen. Sifuna does things for the whole country. He just happens to come from Nairobi, but he is a Senator of the Republic of Kenya. My Member of Parliament, my local area where I come from, Teso South, is called Hon. Mary Emase. She is a Member of Parliament of the Republic of Kenya, but from Teso South. We must get that phraseology to give us that national outlook.

Otherwise, we begin pigeonholing when we look at the problems of this country. We must stand on the balcony as national leaders and have a world view that is not restrained by choosing to stand in your small villages. So, I welcome you to the County of Busia.

Sen. Sifuna, has just walked in. I am saying that in Busia, we have everything that this country needs. However, because of our bad politics and history, the original sin of this country, we were marginalized. Even the great apes we had, with a complete park have moved to Bwindi impenetrable forests in Uganda, because nobody cared about them. Now, the land has become a grazing site.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this concept of the Senate choosing to sit in counties is absolutely important as it gives that county or the people of Kenya the opportunity to understand that we are one country, we are one nation. We just have regions, and what you have, but we are one people; one nation. I will welcome you. My brother says I do not walk presidential. When you come to Busia, I may even be imperial. I will walk presidential.

I hope my governor too will be excited. We will together host the great people of Kenya. I know when you come to Busia, all the assets that you will carry to the County Assembly will be left there. Busia will be the richer. Members of County Assembly (MCAs) and all of us will be the richer.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I second.

Thank you, Sen. Omtatah, for seconding the Motion.

Sen. Karungo wa Thang’wa has been delaying reporting to hear the social aspects of Busia County. You have omitted that part, which is extremely important as well. You

have given us extremely tough issues that we want to witness, but the social aspect, we are scared. Not us, but Sen. Karungo is lost. Sorry, I have also included myself there.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I agree this is a Procedural Motion. It has always been my argument as a ranking Member of this House that we should do more oversight visits. In the Senate CPAC, we have tried to visit. I am happy that this time we are visiting Busia County. We need to go there and see what is happening. The area Senator did not assure us of our security because the last time he was there, he was leaving under a hail of stones. I hope the security agencies will handle that matter.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Malaba Border Point and Busia being one of the towns as you exit our country is critical. In the East Africa Community Trade Protocols, Malaba is one of the few and important places. It is always sad to see in the news that there is gridlock and inefficiency, especially in our trade of transport.

Secondly, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I assure Sen. Okiya Omtatah that the principle of broad-based Government and His Excellency the President is equity and equality. That is why he has said the politics of marginalization has always affected Busia County, yet other parts of the country have developed.

I would like to assure him and the Whip of the Government, that the President is very keen on bringing equity and equality development across the country. This is the only time that Sen. Okiya Omtatah and Sen. Khalwale should give a chance to the Government to deliver on equity and equitable development, so that we can move together going into the future.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I exit, I would like to leave the holy verse of Revelation Chapter 3---

Sen. Cherarkey, hold on a minute. What is your point of order, Sen. Boni Khalwale?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, under Standing Order No.105, is the Senator of Nandi County in order to pretend that he is the spokesperson of the Government and a Minister? Can he be asked to withdraw remarks aimed at imply that he can inform the Chief Whip of the Government, when the reverse is the case, on how Government works, unless he is implying that this is a tribal Government, which he is trying to defend? We have a Government of Kenya which does not recognize him with any leadership position whatsoever. He is a small man, Senator of Nandi County. Could he migrate from his tribal thinking and focus on how the Government works?

Sen. Boni Khalwale, it is today that I am also hearing that you are the Majority Whip of the Government. I thought you are the

Senate Majority Whip, not of the Government. You can form the Government and still you do not want the majority. Are you aware you can contemplate that?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand guided, but I am so stuttered because there is so much confusion. We do not know which is the Majority side and which is the Minority side. The people on the Minority side are in the Government while the people in Majority side, do not know where to go. In fact, they are sitting in committees. For that reason, since I am not part of the broad-based Government, I thought I should say of the original Government.

Sen. Cherarkey, perhaps, you can clarify what you meant.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale is on a fishing expedition. He is on record, on several occasions, attacking this Government. We have even removed him from WhatsApp groups. He does not even sit in the United Democratic Alliance National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting where I am a member because he is opposing the Government. That is why I am advising him on Revelation 3:14-22.

The Bible says- “Do not behave like Laodicea Christians. You are neither cold or warm.” As the Senate Majority Whip, how can he question the Government on development, yet he is using a Government vehicle? He is the Whip of the Government. He is accusing the Government that it has done nothing in Western Kenya.

I know he is trying a popularity contest to run for Governor of Kakamega County, but he will not survive. If the Orange Democratic movement (ODM) has a candidate, he will not survive in Kakamega County. The Secretary General (SG) of ODM is looking at me because the current Governor of Kakamega County is a distinguished member of ODM.

I am not a small man, Bwana Khalwale. The fact that I was elected by the great people of Nandi County to be not only the first Senator, but I am also enjoying my second term, and God willing, President Ruto will enjoy two terms in the future.

We are in this broad-based Government to stay. I would like to confirm to Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale that President William Ruto and Raila Odinga will work beyond 2027. Some of us who sit deeper in the Government can confirm that.

With those remarks, I submit and support.

Sen. Hezena, please, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to contribute to this noble initiative by the Senate. I support the sitting of the Senate in Busia County. I am glad that the Senator for Busia County has just made me know or realize that Busia County is among the marginalized counties in the country. I thought marginalization was for minority communities. However, now that we have majority communities in this country who are also suffering from marginalization, we can declare war on marginalization as the Senate, as the oversight of the Republic of Kenya.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is important to carry out these sittings in the remote parts of the country. This is because, when we sit here at the comfort zone of Nairobi,

very often, we fail to recognize that there are parts of this country that do not even realize what the roles of the Senate are.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, worst of all, in some counties like in my county, Samburu, voters and citizens do not know the role of any elected leader. I have noted with concern that when elected leaders realize that most of their people are illiterate, they take advantage and lure them with false narratives and promises. Then our people start wondering, how come every time they elect people, they turn out to be very bad, liars, and corrupt? It is because these people do not even know the role of these specific leaders in the offices that they hold.

It will also be good for our citizens in the marginalized parts of the country to note that Senators do not have development funds; that Senators are there to speak and talk on their behalf. They are there to defend the rights of the people, ensure that public resources are utilized for the intended and rightful purposes. They are there to question any embezzlement of funds in each of our counties.

It is very saddening when we have a lot of resources being pumped by the National Treasury to our respective counties. However, after almost 15 years after devolution, some of our counties are still lagging behind. It is very hurtful.

The other day - and I thank the President of Kenya - while I was in Baragoi, he sponsored anti---

Next time, train yourself to look at the lights. When the light turns green, you are cautioned. When it turns red, you should stop. You are doing so well nowadays. Congratulations.

Proceed, Sen. Thang’wa.

Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. From the onset, I do not know why you singled me out on the issue of social life in Busia. Busia is not new to me. I have been to Busia severally. I have gone to the home and visited the mother of the Senator for Busia County, Sen. Omtatah. I was given a rosary by his mother, which I believe has been keeping me safe from this rogue Government.

I have visited a place called the Kakapel Rock, below the foot of Chelelmuk Hills in Busia. One of the biggest rocks in East and Central Africa. So, I know Busia.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, there are so many problems that the governor should solve for the Busia people one being traffic jam when it comes to the border point. If you travel there by road, sometimes you will hate your trip to Busia. I would want to tell Sen. Cherarkey, who is asking Sen. Omtatah to provide security, that the people of Busia are good people. Nothing will happen to him. The Senate should provide security to us; the Senators who are opposing this Government. This is because this Government is trailing us left, right and centre.

When I am Kiambu or its surroundings, I am able to have three, four vehicles from the people of Kiambu to follow me. However, when I go to Busia, I might not have the same car. Is the Senate going to provide me security from this rogue regime that is trying to plant weapons and canisters from teargas, so that they can charge us with terrorism? That is what they want to do. Now you are taking me away from the capital where I have security, not from the people of Busia, but from this rogue regime.

When we get to Busia, give us an opportunity to talk to the MCAs of Busia County Assembly. By the way, we are not afraid of the rogue regime. We will go.

Sen. Thang’wa, wait a minute. What is your point of order, Sen. Ali Roba?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise under Standing Order No.105 to ask my colleague, the hon. Senator for Kiambu County, to substantiate all the statements he is making about a rogue Government and the issue of the Government becoming a threat and all the issues that he has said. Can he just substantiate or otherwise withdraw and apologize to the Government? We are discussing the sitting of the Senate in Busia County, not the Government and there is no time that---

But Sen. Cherarkey was doing the same!

The honourable Senator for Nairobi City County, I am on the Floor on a point of order. You can raise any other issue, but let me just conclude by saying I want Sen. Thang’wa to substantiate or otherwise withdraw and apologize by trying to pit the Government in issues that are not related to Government of hooliganism and other issues.

I thank you.

Sen. Cherarkey, what is your point of order?

Mr. Speaker, I rise under Standing Order Nos.98, 101, 105 and Articles 243, 244, 245 and 246 of the Constitution to seek that the distinguished Senator of Kiambu County be ruled out of order. He should be ruled out of order for not knowing--- This is free of charge that the police command and security is independent of the Executive. Is it in order?

The Inspector General (IG) of Police under the Constitution---

Sen. Sifuna, give him time to explain. You can rise on a point of order or something else, but making noise does not ---

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, making noise does not take away my rights. Is it in order for the distinguished Senator, who might only be one term, to say that---

You are repeating yourself, Sen. Cherarkey.

No, I am just saying can you rule out of order the distinguished Senator for Kiambu County for saying that the Executive is controlling the Inspector General of Police, yet the Inspector General of Police is independent as per the Constitution?

On a point of information, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Which point of information? I am on a point of order?

Sen. Thang’wa, can you give those clarifications and your time is really running.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. Hold my time on my contribution. This is their time because they are the ones who have interjected me and that is why I want to answer them. If they had never asked, then I would be contributing.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am being asked to substantiate the obvious. Today, as I speak, Hon. Koimburi of Juja Constituency was arrested by the DCI. A few days ago, the Hon. Member for Manyatta Constituency in Embu was arrested by DCI on his way home. The other day, the MP for Naivasha, Hon. Jayne Kihara was arrested by DCI from her home. These people are trailing us everywhere. I have some information that they want to plant guns and teargas canisters in our vehicles, so that they can charge us with treason. That is why we are being careful. This is a rogue regime.

Can you conclude, Sen, Thang’wa.

They are looking for---

Proceed, Sen. Olekina.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the Motion on holding the Senate sittings in Busia County.

It is imperative that Kenyans note that whenever we take the sittings of the Senate outside the precincts of Parliament, it is for us to be able to continue with the business on our Order Paper of the day, not for us to go and engage with MCAs or engage the citizens. It is essentially taking the same business that would be carrying out here and taking it to Busia.

I am quite happy that we are now reaching out to other counties because while we are there, going on with our daily business on the Order Paper; when we leave the precincts of that Parliament, which will have been gazetted, we will get a chance to enjoy the cultural diversity that exists in Busia. A little fact that is not known about Busia is that it is home to the largest freshwater lake in East Africa, which is Lake Victoria.

It is also important for us to appreciate the fact that we have been fighting for a very long time for the East African Community (EAC) to be actualized. Busia is a border town. Therefore, it will give these legislators an opportunity to see the importance of actualizing the EAC or the East African Federation (EAF) .

I am sure the distinguished Senator from Busia County is constantly held in traffic when there are so many trucks that are crossing. It will give these distinguished Senators from the 47 counties who are elected by representatives from each of the 47 counties as well as the specially elected, an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the rest of Kenya.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I can assure you that I have only been to Busia during the campaigns. I have not had a chance to widen and deepen my relations with the people of Busia. I am quite happy that there is a small community of the Maasai Community living in Busia County. When we go to Busia, and I am not sitting in Parliament to carry out the business of the day, I will be able to reach out to my brothers who live there.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, let us be reminded that we are a legislative arm of Government. Our role is to legislate, not to fight with the other arms of Government. We must make legislation that will make this country a better place for future generations.

To the young people seated here today, I hope that when you leave, you do so having witnessed how we fight for devolution, not how we heckle or fight among ourselves.

I thank you.

Sen. Roba Ali Ibrahim.

Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Motion for us have Senate Mashinani Sittings in Busia County. The role of creating awareness is also a responsibility of the Senate. We need to ensure that the country knows the roles and responsibilities of the Senate.

It is wise that we are choosing different areas. Last year, we sat in Turkana and this year, we will be in Busia. We will interact with the communities of Busia and bring the Senate to the population of our communities in different counties.

As I rise to support this Procedural Motion, outside the agenda of the Motion, I have heard a number of discussions that have come up and are unrelated to the matter at hand. I urge our colleagues to confine themselves to the Motion in question, so that we are able to contribute constructively. Other issues that are controversial can be discussed in a different forum.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the sittings in Busia.

Sen. Osotsi Godfrrey.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I am very delighted to support this Motion because Busia County and Vihiga County all belong to what used to be called, “Western Province.” I am very delighted, just like the way the Senator for Busia Couty is delighted, that, finally, this year, we are going to have our sittings in Busia County.

A lot has been said about Busia, I will not repeat. However, I emphasise that as we do the sittings in these counties, we should do a proper engagement with the locals. In fact, my expectation is that every Committee should come up with a programme on how to engage the locals so that to give solutions to the people of Busia. For example, the issue of traffic in Malaba and even in Busia itself, the Committee on Roads and Transportation and Housing should prepare to go and address that issue on the ground.

My Committee has planned that we are going to have our sittings in Busia to look at issues of water in Busia Water Company. We are also going to look at the issues of hospitals in Busia County. We will do a great service to people of Busia if our programmes and agenda within that period we will be there is targeted to the people of Busia.

That is not enough. I also expect that outside the formal settings that we will be in, we should also seize this opportunity to do awareness about the functions of the Senate. I am increasingly becoming concerned that many of our people do not understand the roles of the Senate. How many times have we gone to meetings and people ask us when we are going to construct a road or build a school?

It is very important to also use this opportunity to make our people understand the oversight role of the Senate and our contribution as provided for in the Constitution. There are two levels of oversight; we have the primary and secondary oversight. In many of our counties, people only understand that the person who does oversight is a Senator.

They have even forgotten that Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs) also have a role to do primary oversight. I expect the Secretariat to have a programme to create awareness to the people of Busia---

Sen. Sifuna Edwin Watenya.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, we continue to grapple with very unfair application of the rules of this House; that people will bring irrelevant discussions when they are making contributions, but people only rise to object when others do it.

Let me begin by saying I am very proud that I was a Member of the Senate Business Committee (SBC) in 2024, when we made the decision to host Senate Mashinani in Busia County.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, please, pause my time.

Order, Sen. Boni Khalwale and Sen. Ali Roba.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was saying I was a Member of SBC when this decision was made. I want to correct something that has been said here. Members have forgotten that last year, we did not have Senate Mashinani. We had been given an option of choosing between Busia and Baringo. Would you believe it that we were not able to go to Busia as a Senate because we were told that this House has no resources to get Senators to Busia?

That is why when Members of the National Assembly ask us what exactly is the Senate's problem with the Parliament generally? These are some of the things. We are hindered in our ability to perform our functions because of the sort of facilitation for our functions that we get from Parliament. The Members of the National Assembly, I hope you understand the things that the Senate goes through.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, in Turkana, we had a very good experience. I was happy. When you go to these places, you learn a lot, including seeing the chambers where our colleagues, the MCAs, sit, whom we share that oversight responsibility. We are very lucky as a Senate and my prayer has always been that all the county assemblies would reflect or look like the Senate here in Nairobi. This will ensure that the MCAs are also able to undertake their functions in the same environment that we enjoy.

I come from Bungoma. That is my hometown. There are many ways to access Busia from Bungoma. You can use the road from Kanduyi to Malaba. There is another one that goes through Bumula. There is another one that goes through Matungu.

I want to disclose here that as Secretary General of the Orange Democratic (ODM) Party, I am very proud of the County of Busia. It has the highest percentage of registered voters, who are members of ODM. It is not Siaya or Homa Bay County that is number one. Busia County is number one in the registration of members of ODM. I am very proud of that county. We won almost all the seats there, which is a factor that makes me very proud as well.

We are hoping that when we are there, we will get opportunity to interact with the people. In Turkana, the people of Lodwar told me that many of the Senators were not

interacting with them. We want you to interact with the people of Busia because that is the land of Mulembe. There are no problems there.

I assure the Senator from Busia that if there are any spillovers or shortages of anything, even if it is chicken, to rush fresh chicken from my mother's farm to Busia will take less than 40 minutes. I will also be inviting the Senate to go and visit my mother in Bungoma. After you are done, you can rest there.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I wish we had enough resources to pursue the idea that has been fronted by the Senator for Vihiga County. We need to spend more time in the counties. We need our committees to spend more time in the counties. We need to be properly resourced for us to be able to be on the ground---

Conclude in one minute.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, in my experience, one thing that the governors do not like to see is the Senate on the ground. I am happy that upon my request, the Committee on County Public Accounts is coming to Nairobi to audit our projects. The Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations is also coming to audit the state of devolution in Nairobi.

Imagine, if all the committees of this House were to spend one week in Meru; the Committee on Roads and Transportation and Housing is sitting somewhere and the County Public Accounts Committee is looking at the books, we would do better and thorough work on the ground if we were able to spend more time there.

I beseech this House to make it possible for our committees to spend more time on the ground, especially in these last two years. We should spend more time on the ground to audit projects and the performance of these Governors because that is what we were elected to do.

I thank you for your kind indulgence.

Well spoken, because Sen. Cherarkey was said to put an intervention. He thought you had--- Okay, we are almost concluding.

Next is Sen. (Dr.) Oburu Odinga.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity. I come from Siaya County, which borders Busia. History has it that when Western was part of Nyanza, part of Busia, which is Samia and Bunyala, were part of central Nyanza. They were not part of North Nyanza. Busia is our connection with Uganda. Actually, that is the umbilical cord between us and Uganda. Whenever we have problems with Uganda, we would rather have the District Commissioners (DCs) of Busia and the DCs of Siaya discussing with those ones over the border. When you go there, you will be able to witness all this. This is because it is not just on the land that we share a border with Uganda. We also share a border with Uganda in the waters of Lake Victoria.

Busia shares a border with Uganda in the waters of Lake Victoria, and there are so many islands. Some of them we are claiming are ours. I do not want to mention them to create a problem with our neighbours. However, I know the people who are living there are people from Kenya, they are people from Busia. That notwithstanding, there is also a cross-border. There are tribes and clans who live across the border, for instance, the brother of Moody Awori, was a presidential candidate in Uganda. Moody Awori was the

Vice President of Kenya. This is because the Samias are both on the Ugandan and Kenyan sides, and they have MPs on both sides.

So, when we go there, we are going to understand the people. The people there are very good. Those who are concerned, my brother from Kiambu was concerned about security. Many of his own people are living there. When he goes there, he will find them. So, how do they live there safely and he wants to feel unsafe when he goes there?

The decision of the Senate to hold Senate Mashinani sittings in our counties is a very, very wise decision. This is because you cannot understand the people without interacting with them. When you interact with them, you understand their problems more.

Very well. I think when we get to Busia, you should be the first Senator to give us that history as we settle down to start our work there.

Sen. Veronica Waheti Nduati.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. The Senate represents the counties and serves to protect the interests of the counties and their governments. There is no better programme for the Senate to undertake than to go to Senate Mashinani and make efforts to reach out to the 47 counties.

The rich experience we had in Turkana County, the last time that we had Senate Mashinani, was proof of the fact that the Senate should actually find ways, means and reasons to sit in the counties and understand exactly what the counties need. That is why I look forward to being in Busia County. I look forward to experiencing the rich cultural heritage that is in Busia County, fronted by the Luhya and the Teso communities.

It is a rich agricultural county, which has sugarcane as its commercial farming. This is a crop which I believe has now brought a smile to the farmers in Busia. I am sure the Senate will be happy to receive the feedback, especially because the payment of sugarcane has been revamped by the Government. I know that they have good feedback on whether devolved agriculture is working, especially in the sugarcane farming, which has brought very many issues of contention before, which now must have given a smile to the farmers in Busia.

It also hosts the one stop border point. This can help us to see how that border point has helped the county to revamp the trade that is happening around Lake Victoria, that is connecting the East African region.

I cannot imagine what would happen if the Senate was to make visits to different counties, for instance, Murang’a County, to see how the devolved functions are working, especially the hospitals. So, we are asking the County Government of Busia to please check out how their hospitals are; whether the mothers are comfortable. This is because the Senators will be there and we will be able to see whether those hospitals are meeting the standards and whether the money that is being devolved to that county is reaching it to give the service to wananchi.

I hope the Senate will be able to combine some of the functions that are done by committees like the County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee (CPISFC) and the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) . This will enable it to see the devolved function and the way the funds are being utilised to serve the people of Busia is

being honestly done – or it is another--- I am avoiding to use the word “a crime scene” because we have seen several counties where those funds never---

There was a time limitation of three minutes.

Sen. Wakoli, you were on the line, but I think you decided to opt out.

Asante, Mhe. Naibu Spika, kwa nafasi hii ambayo umenipa ili niweze kuchangia Hoja hii. Sababu ambazo ninaunga mkono Hoja ya kwamba Seneti iwe na vikao katika Gatuzi la Busia - watu wa Busia kama kaunti zinginezo katika Serikali na nchi ya Kenya, kaunti hii ina haki ya kuwakaribisha wageni kutoka pembe mbali, ili wajionee tamaduni na itifaki zote zinazohusisha watu wa Busia.

Busia ni kaunti iliyo na tabaka mbali mbali. Kuna jamii ya Batura, Bukusu, Teso, Luo, Kikuyu - wote wako katika eneo hili. Eneo hili lina vivukio vya mipaka kadhaa. Kuna Malaba, Busia na eneo la Mlwanda. Eneo Busia kama jinsi wenzangu wamesema ni kwamba kuna ukulima wa pamba, mahindi, parachichi na miwa. Ni muhimu watu wa Busia wapate nafasi hii kwa sababu baadhi ya viongozi nchini humu hutamka maneno ambayo hawaelewi na hawajui mbona eneo hili linahitaji fedha za kusawazisha miradi ya maendeleo. Budalangi na Teso ni maeneo ambayo yana uchochole na umaskini na lazima fedha zifike, ili watu waweze kujivunia.

Kwa mapana na marefu, eneo la Busia linapakana na Kaunti ya Kakamega, Kaunti ya Bungoma na Kaunti ya Siaya. Mnakapokuja katika Kaunti ya Busia, mtapata starehe ama kubugia tembo katika Kaunti ya Bungoma. Mnaweza kupata vitumbuizi; vitu vya kusisimua miili yetu na hamu ya kujua kwamba Bungoma vile vile kuna Bukusu, Teso, Batura, Sabaoti na watu kule Chepyuk ambao kuna eneo la asali na maziwa. Kule Chepyuk kuna maeneo ya upanzi wa viazi, kahawa na vile vile ufugaji wa ng’ombe.

Hivi ni kuwaambia Wakenya kwamba tutakapoenda katika eneo la Busia, waje wakijua kwamba vile vile wana shida ambazo lazima zitatuliwe kama vile barabara ya kutoka Kisumu kwenda Busia, barabara ya kutoka Mayoni kwenda Nambale na kufika hadi kule Busia. Kuna Barabara ya kutoka Busia kwenda mpaka Mateka na maeneo mengine. Hii ni kusema Seneti ikiwa katika Kaunti ya Busia, ni kuweka---

Having no other Senator wishing to contribute, I request the Mover to reply.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank colleagues for supporting this very important Motion.

I wish to use this opportunity to urge the Governor of Busia County to be ready for us. We have questions we would like to ask him. He runs a budget of Kshs9.8 billion per year. As a son of that region, I am not happy that I do not see the evidence of the Kshs9.8 billion on the ground in Busia. We owe it to our people.

Therefore, Governor, we will be urging you to think of how to open the economy of Busia. There is no reason, Senator of Busia County, why the Governor of Busia cannot take advantage of the East African Trade Protocols along with the governors of Siaya, Kisumu and Homa Bay counties to open up the Blue Economy. If they open up the Blue Economy, we are going to see the economy of Sio Port, Port Victoria and Port Banbunan opening up. The governors of the lake region should stop looking at Lake Victoria just in terms of fishing. They have to open it up.

I do not see why the Governor of Busia cannot develop Bumbe Beach, a very beautiful beach back at home. I do not see why he is not developing Sisenye Beach. We need to put that encouragement to him. Two years is still a long time; he can open up the economy of Busia.

With those many remarks, I move and thank you.

Clerk, do we have quorum to put the question?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with your permission, when I look around the House, the numbers are not good for voting. I move that you defer putting of the question until another date.

Hon. Senators, help me understand whether there is a Senator who has been assigned by Sen. Oketch Gicheru. Maybe Sen. Cherarkey has been assigned by Sen. Oketch Gicheru.

Next Order.

Madam Temporary Chairperson, I stand on Standing Order No.41, that if you look around in the House, there is no quorum as provided by the Standing Orders.

I thank you. The Temporary Chairperson (Sen. Mumma): Clerk, we raise the quorum? There is no quorum. Serjeant-at-Arms, ring the Bell for 10 minutes.

Hon. Senators, I request the Chair to report progress.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order No.41 (2) (b) , there was no quorum at the Committee of the Whole. Therefore, we did not make progress on the Creative Economy Support Bill (Senate Bills No.30 of 2024) .

Hon. Senators, having failed to attain the quorum at the expiry of the 10 minutes, the Senate stands adjourned pursuant to Standing Order No.41 (2) (b) until Tuesday, 29th July, 2025, at 2.30 p.m.

The Senate rose at 5.21 p.m.