Tuesday, 10th February, 2026

Clerk, do we have quorum?

Serjeant-at-Arms, please, ring the Bell for five minutes.

Hon. Senators, can we settle down? Clerk, you may read the Orders.

Hon. Senators, it is my pleasure and privilege to welcome you back from the recess. I believe that you have had the opportunity to spend time with your families and constituents over the Christmas and New Year festivities.

In accordance with Standing Order No.31 (1) , the Fifth Session begins today, 10th February, 2026 and will conclude on Thursday, 3rd December, 2026. Very shortly, the Senate Business Committee (SBC) , once constituted, will consider the calendar for the Session, which will apportion the sitting days and recess in between the stated period. A notice of Motion and Motion on the proposed Senate Calendar will be scheduled in the Order Paper thereafter, for approval by the Senate.

Hon. Senators, as we begin the Fifth Session, it is important to take stock of the activities and achievements in the Fourth Session. Five Senate Bills were considered by both Houses and assented to by His Excellency the President.

These Bills are-

Senator for Kilifi, kindly take your seat.

Hon. Senators, you will recall that the Clerk, vide a letter dated 4th February, 2026 addressed to all Senators and copied to the Speaker, notified Senators of the installation of a new multi-media digital congress system to manage the various aspects of Senate proceedings in plenary.

The installation was undertaken in the course of the long recess and is currently at the final configuration stage. Once fully configured, the system is expected to address the issues that persisted with the previous outdated systems.

Hon. Senators, you may have observed that the new system incorporates built-in fingerprint scanners on the delegate units to facilitate biometric authentication. This offers a more secure and convenient sign-in mode than the key card that was previously in use.

In addition to facilitating sign-in, biometric authentication will be used to generate attendance reports. You will, therefore, be required to sign-in whenever you are present for your attendance to be recorded. For avoidance of doubt, should you attend a sitting and not sign-in to the system, you will be marked absent.

The secretariat has made the necessary arrangements for registration of fingerprints after this sitting and for the remainder of this week to enable all Senators to register before the default sign-in mode is set to biometrics on Tuesday, 17th February,

Proceed, the Senate Majority Leader.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to give notice of the following Motion- THAT, pursuant to Standing Orders No.190 and 199 (3) , the Senate approves the following Senators nominated to serve in the Senate Business Committee for the Fifth Session, in addition to the Speaker of the Senate, who pursuant to Standing Order No.190 (1) (a) , shall be the Chairperson of the Committee, the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader, the Senate Majority Whip and the Senate Minority Whip:

Next Order.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to move the following Motion:

THAT, pursuant to Standing Orders No.190 and 199 (3) , the Senate approves the following Senators nominated to serve in the Senate Business Committee for the Fifth Session, in addition to the Speaker of the Senate, who pursuant to Standing Order No.190 (1) (a) , shall be the Chairperson of the Committee, the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader, the Senate Majority Whip and the Senate Minority Whip:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to move and request the Leader of Minority, Sen. Madzayo, to second this Motion.

The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Madzayo):

Asante, Bw. Spika. Kwanza

Sen. Mo Fire, just take your seat. Hon. Senators, I will now proceed to propose the question.

Hon. Senators, this is a Procedural Motion. We need not spend a lot of time on it, debating on the names of your colleagues. With your concurrence, I may proceed to put the question.

Asante, Bw. Spika. Kwanza

Sen. Mo Fire, just take your seat. Hon. Senators, I will now proceed to propose the question.

Hon. Senators, this is a Procedural Motion. We need not spend a lot of time on it, debating on the names of your colleagues. With your concurrence, I may proceed to put the question.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I congratulate colleagues who have been elected to the Senate Business Committee (SBC) and appreciate that they have a heavy duty. Considering that this is the second to the final Fifth Session before we go to the general elections, I appeal to them, as the SBC, to ensure that we settle in as soon as practicably possible.

We want the Chamber to be reconfigured properly in terms of sound, and ensure that the effectiveness and running of the House is kept. The SBC should also find out for us why it is that when we are on recess, demolitions and repairs must always happen.I want to appeal to the SBC that under Articles 125, 124 of the Constitution, the reconstitution of committees, the invitation of witnesses before the Senate, must and should follow the Constitution. The SBC must assist us in rescheduling some of these reports, in ensuring that there is compliance in attendance of committee meetings.Whenever we are outside there, many people question us on the role of the Senate. What is the Senate doing? Our greatest business, my colleague Senators, is to ensure all the funds and resources that we devolve to our counties should and must be accounted for. It is not a favour or privilege, but a constitutional obligation. Anybody who does not want to account for public money should resign from office.It is a clear violation of Chapter Six and Article 10 on National Values and Principles of Good Governance. Any money given, especially to the governors, must and should be accounted for. In fact, I want to assure them that we will go harder as we demand for each and every shilling.Mr. Speaker, Sir I thank you for taking the lead. I watched your speech today as you condoled with Sen. Mandago. You asked what was hard about coming to account to the Senate. If we gave you Kshs10 what is the problem with accounting?I must celebrate you for providing leadership that this country needs. We will not sit with anybody, including the Council of Governors (CoG), who have turned to professional gossip. We will only sit and discuss how we can ensure that devolution works; we push for an increment to Kshs450 billion and ensure that those functions that have been clawed back are devolved---

Just to wind up, all of us who are elected to this House have a responsibility to defend devolution in the counties. We all took the same oath. Even if another set of Senators is picked, there is no Senator here who will ignore a spending of Kshs4 million on a Christmas tree. It is not possible.

money. That is a serious peoples’ agenda and when challenged, the Ministry of Education has told the country that almost 500,000 children are not accounted for.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we cannot be proud of this country if we, as leadership, are not ensuring that our children progress in school. That a statement was made from a responsible office, that people should take their children to school even with the old primary school uniform or civilian clothes, is to assume that the only reason they are not going to school is uniform. They are not going to school because they do not have money, books and for many reasons. We have to think about children of parents like what your parents were before you became who you are. We are messing our country.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, while at home also, we were visited by a spectre, in quiet villages where there are no tear gases and police land cruisers. We were visited and shootings were taking place because they want to internally displace the people of Ikolomani because we sit on gold. They have gone further and are proposing to construct a General Service Unit (GSU) Camp in Ikolomani. I beg the Government. You are now setting up the country for instability because of gold mining in Kakamega County. The gold in Kakamega is several times more worth in terms of return than the oil in Turkana. The oil in Turkana will bring Kshs142 billion, but the gold in Ikolomani has been reported to be Kshs685 billion---

Sen. Boni, your time is up. I know we have come from a very long recess and we may be rusty. The rule on relevance applies. If you heard your colleagues, they were addressing the Motion as drafted. However, approximately 90 per cent of your contribution is irrelevant to this Motion. So, in my opinion, I do not need to give you an extra minute.

Sen. Wambua, please, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to also join you and the leadership of the House - the Majority and the Minority - to welcome our colleagues back after a long recess and thank God for good health and the gift of life.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am in support of the Motion to establish the Senate Business Committee. As has been said by my colleagues, it is my expectation, legitimately so, that this Committee shall give priority to matters that affect the common mwananchi, the ordinary citizen. One of the greatest businesses of the House is to prioritise our business, to ensure that there is business on the Floor.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, before this Committee is set up, there is already a threat to the functions of a committee. An amorphous body that is alien to the Senate is proposing potential persons that are supposed to appear before committees of Parliament and telling them not to appear before the Senate.

I would like to go on record with my colleagues and say that the Council of Governors does not – and I repeat, does not – appear before the Senate oversight committees. It is individual governors who appear. Accountability is personal, it is not corporate.

I am surprised and thought the Secretary General (SG) of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) was going to put his Member to order, because I know the

Chairperson of that Council is a Member of ODM. I thought the SG was going to put his Member to order; that he cannot be so rough and demonstrate such levels of impunity as to incite his colleagues to subvert and suspend the Constitution. The appearance of governors before Senate oversight committees is a constitutional requirement. There is a constitutional deadline to it. By the 31st of March every year, the Senate’s County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) and County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee (CPISFC) must have considered the reports of the Auditor-General for every county.

I take this opportunity to thank the governors of Narok and Ki---

Please, add him one minute.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to thank the governors of Kitui and Narok counties; that even in the presence of that illegitimate directive from the CoG, they understood, and still understand, that accountability is personal, and appeared before the Senate’s County Public Accounts Committee for the Narok Governor and the Senate’s County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee for the Governor of Kitui County, and responded to audit queries. That is the way it should be. Any governor that has been invited to appear before the Senate oversight committees and decides not to appear because the CoG has issued that directive, will carry their own cross.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, Sir, as a leader of this House, together with you and other leaders---

Chairperson of that Council is a Member of ODM. I thought the SG was going to put his Member to order; that he cannot be so rough and demonstrate such levels of impunity as to incite his colleagues to subvert and suspend the Constitution. The appearance of governors before Senate oversight committees is a constitutional requirement. There is a constitutional deadline to it. By the 31st of March every year, the Senate’s County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) and County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee (CPISFC) must have considered the reports of the Auditor-General for every county.

I take this opportunity to thank the governors of Narok and Ki---

Please, add him one minute.

and we see these people walking free, like they have gotten so much confidence and are laughing at us.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the EACC needs to start asserting itself. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) needs to start dealing with these corrupt governors. If we do not deal with them, they will subvert the Constitution and bring the country down. It is not even the national Government that will bring the country down, it is the governors who are going to bring this country down.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, my prayer is that the SBC will find a way to bring the Director of the EACC, as well as the Director of Public Prosecutions to tell us how far they have gone with the past recommendations that have been brought before them.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the EACC sits in the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC). I am not a Member of CPAC, but when I attend, I see them present. They receive allowances and thereafter reports are taken before them. They have live information, but governors are not arrested.

You have one minute, hon. Senator.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, when the Senator for Tana River County is speaking, I am not speaking as Dr. Danson Mungatana; I am speaking as an elected Senator of the Republic of Kenya. When one is called before the CPAC, it is not because those Members are ordinary people. They are office holders.

Governors must stop thinking that they are small gods. They are elected just like us, in fact, from the same counties. Why do they imagine themselves to be small gods? Is it simply because they are addressed as “His Excellency”? What happened to these people? Some of them were sitting in this House. Can one truly stand by a statement that says they should not account for the money the Senate is sending to their counties?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we must bring them to order. I pray that the Senate Business Committee (SBC) will support---

and we see these people walking free, like they have gotten so much confidence and are laughing at us.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the EACC needs to start asserting itself. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) needs to start dealing with these corrupt governors. If we do not deal with them, they will subvert the Constitution and bring the country down. It is not even the national Government that will bring the country down, it is the governors who are going to bring this country down.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, my prayer is that the SBC will find a way to bring the Director of the EACC, as well as the Director of Public Prosecutions to tell us how far they have gone with the past recommendations that have been brought before them.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the EACC sits in the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC). I am not a Member of CPAC, but when I attend, I see them present. They receive allowances and thereafter reports are taken before them. They have live information, but governors are not arrested.

You have one minute, hon. Senator.

without paying Kshs25 million to employees for the last two years. We had municipalities operating without any form of independence.

In Nyamira County, a report was presented to us showing that Kshs32 million had been spent, yet water was not provided. The entire two-year budget was consumed by what was termed a feasibility study. In Wajir County, whose Governor was chairing the Council of Governors (CoG), reports of an entity in the county had not been presented for three years.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, add me one minute to say that I feel ashamed to associate with the Chairperson of the CoG---

The Speaker (Hon. Kingi): Okay. You have one more minute.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am ashamed that the Governor of Wajir County, who is a Member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party and the Chairperson of the CoG, can start killing devolution for which the late Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga lived, fought and died for. We now have Members of ODM in that Council, a corporate body that is not constitutional, using public funds which ought to be directed towards ensuring that children go to school.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, since corruption is fighting back, as a House, we must fight back ten times harder.

I support the Motion. I thank you.

Sen. Wafula.

without paying Kshs25 million to employees for the last two years. We had municipalities operating without any form of independence.In Nyamira County, a report was presented to us showing that Kshs32 million had been spent, yet water was not provided. The entire two-year budget was consumed by what was termed a feasibility study. In Wajir County, whose Governor was chairing the Council of Governors (CoG), reports of an entity in the county had not been presented for three years.Mr. Speaker, Sir, add me one minute to say that I feel ashamed to associate with the Chairperson of the CoG---

programmes if we aspire to be like Malaysia. We cannot aspire to be like Singapore when children are starving and yawning, and their money is being misappropriated. We cannot reach where the President wants us to go if Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) lack capitation, tools and materials, while others enjoy riding in flags courtesy of our hard work in the Senate.

I tell my Governor in Bungoma that time is up. He should either shape up or ship out.

Sen. Osotsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I support the Members who have been nominated to the SBC. They are competent and I am sure they will deliver their mandate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you are aware that the two Committees, CPAC and CPISFC, have been working extremely hard for the last one month. Some have done two meetings in a day in order to catch up with the deadline of 31st March. I request you, as the Chairperson of the SBC, to give the reports generated from this engagement priority. If possible, the last two weeks before the close of March, we need to spend our quality time examining the audited reports of all our counties. This will ensure that the issues Members are raising, which are contained in those reports, can be discussed in detail.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, as Chair of the CPISFC, I am very disappointed by the statement that came from the CoG in Kilifi, purporting that our engagement with county governors amounts to harassment, intimidation and extortion.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you for coming out strongly to condemn that statement. That is precisely what the Senate should do. We have also resolved, as a Committee, that any governor who fails to appear before us will be surcharged for the expenses of the Committee, including the costs incurred by our partners, the Controller of Budget (CoB) , the National Treasury, and the EACC, who sit among us.

We are going to recommend to this House on stoppage of funds because you cannot have your cake and eat it. You cannot expect us to appropriate money to your counties, but you do not want accountability. If you do not want accountability, then you should not get funds.

Thirdly, we have proposed that we will proceed and process the reports of the Auditor-General and make our recommendations about those counties. We are very firm on that and that is what we will do and bring the report here.

Mr. Speaker Sir, some of us are being threatened by our own county governors. My governor appeared before the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) where I am not even a Member and the issue of Kshs5 million spent on housewarming came up. When they went---

Hon. Senator, you have one minute.

programmes if we aspire to be like Malaysia. We cannot aspire to be like Singapore when children are starving and yawning, and their money is being misappropriated. We cannot reach where the President wants us to go if Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) lack capitation, tools and materials, while others enjoy riding in flags courtesy of our hard work in the Senate.

I tell my Governor in Bungoma that time is up. He should either shape up or ship out.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is high time we had a Motion. I want to encourage the committee that we will appoint today to bring a Motion to name some governors for their conduct against the Senate, including the Chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG) who ironically wants to become a Senator. How can he become a Senator when he is condemning the Senate? We also have the Chairperson of the Health Committee of the CoG who is notorious for not appearing before our committees. He also wants to become a Senator.

We need to come out strongly, as a Senate, to condemn this attempt to try---

Proceed, Sen. Thang’wa.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, as I rise to support this Motion. I must say that we thank God that we are back. For some of us being here is a miracle because of what we encountered during the recess. That is chaos, teargas, guns and all that. However, we are happy that we are back.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to congratulate Members of the SBC. I request that they should prioritise any business that concerns counties. Any Motion that concerns a certain governor and their county should be given priority.

I would also like to suggest this. Since we invite Cabinet Secretaries to appear before this Senate and stand over there and we ask them questions, why can we not invite governors? We should also have governors coming and standing there, especially the Chairperson of the CoG. He should come and explain to the country whatever he said, which is unfairly castigating this Senate. After watching that governor speak, I asked myself, what was easier to say? Was it easier for him to say that they would no longer come to the Senate or they would no longer give bribes? It would have been easier to say that they would no longer give money, but they would come. They said that they do not want to come to the Senate because they know what they have done; they know that they are corrupt and they have stolen.

Mr. Speaker, it is up to this Senate to show governors that this is a constitutional forum and that they should appear before us and answer the questions. For those who have stolen, of course we should show them where they are supposed to be.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I support.

Sen. Beatrice, you have the Floor.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is high time we had a Motion. I want to encourage the committee that we will appoint today to bring a Motion to name some governors for their conduct against the Senate, including the Chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG) who ironically wants to become a Senator. How can he become a Senator when he is condemning the Senate? We also have the Chairperson of the Health Committee of the CoG who is notorious for not appearing before our committees. He also wants to become a Senator.

We need to come out strongly, as a Senate, to condemn this attempt to try---

There are times we have seen the National Treasury affirming that all disbursements have been given to the counties, yet we see counties where workers go for over two months without pay. Do governors expect us to be quiet over that?

Your excellency governors - if that is how you want us to refer to you - you must appear before the Senate committees because the Senate has work to do. We want governors to do their work as expected and when they do it, the Senate committees must also oversight the counties. There are counties that are going to be auctioned and Kenyans should not expect the Senate to be quiet over some of those issues.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, governors must appear before us and we encourage all committees---

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Did I hear it right? How is it possible to auction a county? That is very dire! I wish Sen. Ogola can shed some light on the county that is under threat of auction.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, there are counties that are not able to pay salaries and, therefore, get loans from banks. Those are commercial loans. If counties do not pay those loans, what do banks do? Soon we will see counties being auctioned. We are waiting to see those counties that will be auctioned as I have said.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, all we are saying is that as per Article 96 of the Constitution, the Senate has a duty to perform. For governors who do not want to be oversighted, kindly step aside and let Kenyans who can do that---

Proceed, Sen. Mundigi.

There are times we have seen the National Treasury affirming that all disbursements have been given to the counties, yet we see counties where workers go for over two months without pay. Do governors expect us to be quiet over that?

Your excellency governors - if that is how you want us to refer to you - you must appear before the Senate committees because the Senate has work to do. We want governors to do their work as expected and when they do it, the Senate committees must also oversight the counties. There are counties that are going to be auctioned and Kenyans should not expect the Senate to be quiet over some of those issues.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, governors must appear before us and we encourage all committees---

Ningeomba hii Seneti, ikae chini iangalie vile gavana akishamaliza muda wake uongozini, anaweza kukaa nje miaka tano kabla kuchanguliwa tena kama Seneta ili mambo yaliyofanyika akiwa gavana yaangaliwe.

Bw. Spika, naunga hayo yote mkono. Magavana lazima wakubali kujibu maswali yote.

Asante Bw. Spika.

Sen. Omtatah, proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for the opportunity to address this House. I stand to support this Motion.

I am a bit disturbed by the kind of picture I am reflecting out there. I look different on the screen than I do in the mirror. Whoever is responsible for that needs to shake up and fix that image. It is a very bad image of me. I have never seen anything like this.

Asante Bw. Spika kwa kunipa nafasi kuchangia Hoja kuhusu Maseneta waliopendekezwa kutuongoza jinsi Seneti itakavyokuwa ikifanya kazi katika kipindi hiki.

Pili, napinga kitendo cha magavana waliokutana juzi na kusema kuwa hatufai kuwaita katika Seneti. Ni juzi tu tulishughulikia suala la ugavi wa pesa. Usiku na mchana walishinda wakisema kuwa pesa ni kidogo. Wakati tunawapa pesa, inafaa kufanya kazi kule mashinani kwa sababu ya devolution.

Wanaitwa na kamati za Seneti ili kujibu maswali kwa sababu ni sisi Maseneta tunawapa pesa. Kuna Auditor-General ambaye anawaitisha vitu fulani. Wakishindwa kujibu anaandika barua. Kwa hivyo, Bw. Spika, naunga mkono kuwa magavana wote wanafaa kuja kujibu maswali wakiitwa. Hii ni kwa sababu tunafanya kazi ya ugatuzi. Nawafahamisha pia, ikiwa Cabinet Secretaries huja hapa siku ya Jumatano kujibu maswali, magavana ambao tumewatetea wakapata pesa ya ugatuzi ni akina nani, wasusie kuulizwa maswali ambayo yametoka kwa Auditor-General?

Bw. Spika, naunga mkono. Ombi langu ni kwamba, ikiwezekana, CPAC igawanywe katika Kamati ndogo nne ili ziweze kuangalia kwa utaratibu vile pesa za ugatuzi zinafanya kazi. Hii ni kwa sababu Kamati hiyo ina kazi nyingi za kuangalia makaratasi kwa mda mchache.

Hata tukisema tunaenda Singapore au kwingineko, itakuwa vigumu kwa sababu magavana wana shida zao. Nashangaaa sana na Gavana wa Tharaka-Nithi. Alisema kwamba akiitwa atakuja tena. Angesema kuwa hatakuja ili ajionee cha mtema kuni.

Clerk, do we have quorum? Okay, Hon. Senators, I will now proceed to put the question.

Sen. Omtatah, proceed.

Hon. Senators, rise. There being no other business on the Order Paper, the Senate stands adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, 11th February 2026 at 9.30 a.m.

Thank you. The Senate rose at 4.01 p.m.

May the Mover proceed to reply if he is present. Hon. Senators, if not, then I will proceed to put the question.

Sen. Mundigi, kindly take your seat. Clerk, before I put the question, do we have the requisite quorum? Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

Clerk, do we have quorum? Okay, Hon. Senators, I will now proceed to put the question.

Hon. Senators, rise. There being no other business on the Order Paper, the Senate stands adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, 11th February 2026 at 9.30 a.m.

Thank you. The Senate rose at 4.01 p.m.