March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 1

Tuesday, 17th March, 2026

Clerk, do we have quorum?

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

Sen. (Dr.) Lelegwe, kindly take your seat. Sen. Seki, settle down.

Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to give notice of the following Motion-

AWARE THAT, the Constitution of Kenya under Article 43 (1) (f) guarantees every citizen the right to education, and Article 53 (1) (b) provides that basic education is free and compulsory; FURTHER AWARE THAT, the Government of Kenya launched the New Education Funding (NHEF) model in 2023, primarily targeting University and Tertiary and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students, leaving a significant gap in the financial support for students in Diploma and Certificate Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) ;

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The Chairperson, Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation, you have a notice to give.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to give notice of the following Motion-

AWARE THAT, the Sugar General Regulations, 2025

and the Sugar

Regulations, 2025

were tabled in the Senate on 6th November, 2025 and referred to the Select Committee on Delegated Legislation for consideration pursuant to Section 12

(1)

of the Statutory Instruments Act; COGNIZANT THAT the Committee is required to make a report within 28 sitting days after the date of referral of the instruments by the Senate pursuant to Section 15

(2)

of the Statutory Instruments Act which will lapse on Tuesday, 17th March, 2026; AWARE THAT Section 15

(3)

of the Statutory Instruments Act provides that, by a resolution, Parliament may extend the time for consideration of a Statutory Instrument by a period not exceeding 21 calendar days; NOTING THAT the Committee requires additional time to consider issues arising from stakeholder consultations and to allow for further engagement on the Regulations;

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Next Order, Clerk.

Statements pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) . Senator for Murang’a County, Hon. Joe Nyutu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources on a matter of county-wide concern regarding the ongoing review of water service boundaries and the management of water infrastructure in Murang’a County, particularly the reported restructuring involving Murang’a South Water and Sanitation Company and Muranga Water and Sanitation Company, including the status and control of key infrastructure such as Maragua Dam.

In the statement, the committee should address the following-

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Senator for Kilifi County, the Hon. Justice (Rtd,) Steward Madzayo.

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 6 UHIFADHI WA MIILI YA WAATHIRIWA WA JANGA LA SHAKAHOLA

You, had a second statement. Proceed with it.

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Senator for Nandi County, Hon. Cherarkey, please, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Allow me to read my two Statements.

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The statement by the Senator for Nakuru County is hereby deferred.

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 9 DELAYED ALLOCATION OF KISIMA LAND TO CIVIL SERVANTS IN NAKURU COUNTY

Sen. Mungatana, please, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to read my statements.

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 10 SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF UKASI-GARISSA-MODIKA ROAD PROJECT

The next statement pursuant to Standing Order No.56 (1) (a) is by the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.56 (1) (a) of the Senate Standing Orders to make a statement on a matter within the mandate of the Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources on flashfloods that struck Nairobi and other counties on Friday, 6th March, and Saturday, 14th March, 2026, and the systemic environmental governance failures that continue to amplify such disasters.

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Now, statements pursuant to Standing Order No. 57 (1) , the Senate Majority Leader.

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 14 OVERSIGHT MECHANISMS BY THE SENATE OVER COUNTY GOVERNMENTS

Mr. Speaker, sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.57 (1) to make a statement regarding the oversight mechanisms by the Senate under Article 96 of the Constitution.

The Senate, through its committees, exercises its oversight mandate over county governments in accordance with the Constitution, the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, the Public Audit Act (PAA) , the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (PPADA) , the County Governments Act and the Senate Standing Orders.

Article 96 (3) , in particular, provides that the Senate shall exercise oversight over the nationally raised revenue allocated to county governments, including ensuring accountability in the management of public resources. Further, Article 125 (1) grants Parliament and its committees powers to summon any person to appear before it for the purpose of giving evidence or providing information. Further, Article 125 (2) provides that such committees have the same powers as the high court to enforce the attendance of witnesses, examine them under oath, compel the production of documents and issue commissions or requests to examine witnesses abroad.

These powers were reiterated by the Supreme Court in the Petition 24 and 27 of 2019 and 2022; the Senate versus the Council of Governors and six others, where the Supreme Court held that Article 96 (1) (2) and (3) of the Constitution as read together with Articles 110 to 112, leave no doubt that the Senate is established to perform fundamental roles of governance concerning counties through legislative, budgetary and oversight actions.

The court stated that the Senate has been granted considerable latitude in ensuring that county governments operate at optimal and within accountability standards if the objectives of devolution were to be realised.

The Supreme Court emphasised that there was no way the Senate could perform such an important role without having the powers to summon a governor and to require him or her to provide answers and offer explanations regarding the management of the county finances and related affairs. It stated that without such power, the Senate would not be able to protect the interests of the counties nor would it be able to exercise effective oversight over national revenue allocated to counties. The court further stated that the office that is ultimately answerable to the Senate is that of the governor.

In its analysis, the Supreme Court determined that the Senate is constitutionally empowered to summon governors to appear before it or any of its committees for purposes of answering questions and providing requisite information.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the recent past, certain county governors have repeatedly failed to honour invitations and summons issued by the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) to appear before it to respond to matters relating to financial management, accountability and the use of public resources allocated to their respective county governments.

Their actions contravene the Constitution and the statutory duty to account for funds allocated to their respective county governments and undermine the constitutional

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You have it, Majority Leader.

You gave a reply to the county governments on the legal instructions that they tried to give to the Senate while in Kilifi - of their failure to appear until certain matters that they hold against the committee are resolved.

We made it abundantly clear in this House that appearance before this House is not a buffet that you cherry-pick, that I want to take this one, I will leave this other committee, that governors must appear before this particular House. Now that certain governors have chosen - because we must set it on record - that there are governors who have gone ahead and appeared before the County Public and Accounts Committee. However, there are those that have seen the perfect opportunity to dodge responsibility of responding to how they have utilised resources. I request, and this be the position of all of us collectively--- I am aware, because I have consulted with the Chairperson of the County Public Accounts Committee and their membership, that the CPAC will proceed and confirm the findings of the Auditor-General on those counties.

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Hon. Senators, I will allow comments for not more than 15 minutes, including the statement by the Majority Leader, in which case, then I will allow comments for not more than half-an-hour. Therefore, if you get an opportunity to speak, kindly, do so for not more than three minutes.

Sen. Eddy Oketch, you have the Floor.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I just wanted to follow up very quickly on the Majority Leader that the moment we accept---

Sen. Eddy, just take your seat. I will allow you to make your comments. We have guests that have been seated for quite some time. Let me acknowledge their presence, and then we can proceed with the comments.

Hon. Senators, I would like to acknowledge the presence in the Speaker's Gallery this afternoon of a visiting delegation from the County Assembly of Samburu, comprising members of the House Business Committee (HBC) , the Speaker's Panel and its secretariat. The delegation is undertaking a training programme at the Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Training (CPST) .

Hon. Senators, I request each member of the delegation to stand when called out so that you may be acknowledged in the Senate tradition –

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Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me join you in welcoming, on behalf of the Senate, the members of the County Assembly of Samburu, members of the House Business Committee and the Speaker's Panel to the Senate. I know there is a lot to learn here from the Senate by the county assembly members and their staff. Some of the members who are here today have served in the last three assemblies. They have served since devolution started. Hon. Lorunyei and Hon. Lemosa have served in the county assembly for the last three assemblies. They have a wealth of experience.

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Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am grateful for this opportunity. I wish the Senator of Uasin Gishu was here to see how peacefully the county assembly members from his county are seated with the representatives from the County Assembly of Makueni.

That is how things used to happen before Sen. Cheruiyot became the Majority Leader and I joined the Minority Leadership, but I hope that going forward the relationships will normalise.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I join you, again, and my colleagues in welcoming the delegation and just make a point. The Chairperson of the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) is in the House and a statement has been tabled by the Majority Leader on appearances of governors before the CPAC.

Makueni County is the only county in the Financial Year 2024/2025---

Sen. Wambua, you will have an opportunity to say all that.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I just wanted to say that for the benefit of the representative from the County Assembly of Makueni because their county government has done extremely well. The Assembly even appeared last week and they did extremely well.

What I do not know is whether I can say the same thing for the Governor of Uasin Gishu. Since you have assured me that I will have an opportunity to say those things, I will apply myself fully to that invitation and will do it.

With those remarks, I say welcome.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I just wanted to raise a point of information, but I did not want to shout because my governor has not refused to appear before the committees. Indeed, the last time he appeared before the County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee (CPISFC) , I was there. He had mentioned that there is a need to have different---

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Order, hon. Senators. Order, Sen. Hezena, you belong to the Samburu County delegation, which is why I gave you one minute to extend a word of welcome. That is it.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I appreciate the opportunity to welcome our members of the County Assembly.

At the same time, I request the Senate Business Committee (SBC) to ensure that there is harmony in the allocation of time in which the governors or the Cabinet Secretaries are invited to answer questions in their respective committees. This is because in the last time we had a conflict, where the governor was supposed to appear in two committees concurrently and he mentioned it.

Otherwise, I welcome my county assembly. I hope you learn a lot from this House. I know one day that you will have the privilege to serve here and understand how the business of the day is carried out.

Hon. Senators, before I allow comments on the statements that have been sought, allow me to make this Communication.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, within these three minutes, let me, first of all, make a rejoinder or a comment on what Sen. Cherarkey talked about in the police intervention, where issues have been raised and then they end up mishandling people.

I had attempted to bring a serious statement in this House on the status of insecurity in Migori County. Before my statement could be accepted as valid, last

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 20

You have just one minute.

I just have a proposal and request. Why can the Chairperson of CPAC not just do a basic consideration of these reports, because we have given these governors a chance to be heard, and then bring this report for us here in the House, so that we tell the country what is happening in these audit reports?

If we do not intervene, these governors are developing a habit of looking us in the eye and telling us that corruption is acceptable, so long as they can buy their way out and influence Senators. Let us deal with them in this House because committees meet as a subset of the entire House. Bring them into this House. Bring those reports here, so that we discuss them as a House for each governor who does not appear.

Thank you.

Sen. Chute.

Asante, Mheshimiwa Spika. Nitachangia kwa lugha ya Kiswahili ingawa sitaweza kuongea Kiswahili sanifu kama Sen. Madzayo. Taarifa aliyoileta ni muhimu sana. Ni miaka mitatu sasa tangu maafa yatokee Shakahola na hadi sasa maiti zimewekwa kwa magunia na kufungiwa kwa container. Kamati inayohusika inafaa

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Senator for Nairobi City County, Sen. Edwin Sifuna.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish to comment on the statement sought by the Senator for Nandi County.

It is disturbing that weeks after the incident at the University of Nairobi (UoN) , Kikuyu Campus, the officer involved has not been identified by the National Police Service (NPS) . No arrest has been announced and no charges have been preferred against him. There has been no briefing by the NPS. All the concerns expressed by the public that what happened was unacceptable has been met with silence.

At least, in the case of Nandi Hills, where children playing pool were attacked by police, we were told that some administrative action had been taken. Later, however, we were told that those officers had not been transferred as it had been widely circulated. Even in the case of Nandi Hills, no charges have been brought against the officers who openly violated the peace of these young people.

Hon. Speaker, there are very few officers in the police force who give the entire service a bad name. I do not believe that anyone who has undergone police training can fire into a house knowing there are people inside, without seeing where the bullet is going. That officer must be brought to book.

Secondly, I thank the Senate Majority Leader and the leadership of this House, including the Speaker, for the confidence shown towards the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) in our quest to hold governors accountable. I also wish to make it clear that not all county governors are refusing to appear before the committee. There are only a few notorious ones. In fact, I will be challenging my Chair to name the top five most notorious governors, as they are inciting others.

Last week, a governor who chose to attend kept us waiting because she was on the phone with the chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG) , who threatened undisclosed consequences if the meeting proceeded. It is shameful that the Chair of CoG, elected on the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party ticket, for which I am the Secretary General, would champion such impunity. I am extremely embarrassed because

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Sen. Sifuna, conclude in a minute.

He failed to appear. The most unfortunate part is that when I returned from Meru on Sunday evening, I found businessmen from Road A in the Industrial Area waiting for me at my house because their premises were flooded. I had assured them that they need not worry. The governor would appear before the committee the next day and I would ask those questions on their behalf. He did not show up, so I did not get to ask them.

At this rate, I wish there was a way for the committee to be informed where these governors live. We want to go to their homes, just as the businessmen are coming to ours. We must take our committee sittings into the governors’ houses because this is becoming too much.

I confirm that the Governor of Samburu County is one of those. In fact, there is an arrest warrant pending for him. Nobody should tell this House that he has other things to do or that he has not refused to come. We want the Inspector General (IG) of NPS to make good his promise to this House to bring that governor before the Senate, followed by the Governor of Nairobi, Hon. Sakaja.

Senator for Nandi County.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Sen. Sifuna has spoken very well today on behalf of most of us and we are proud. If he continues on this trajectory, things look promising.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to comment on the statement on your county. It is unfortunate that three-and-a-half years later, 286 bodies are lying in Malindi Sub-County Hospital, yet to be released to their families for decent burial. DNA tests have been conducted. What is happening? Is someone using them for sorcery or witchcraft? Why are the bodies not being released to their families? When one visits Malindi Sub-County Hospital, which you are familiar with, the smell is so strong that sick people in the hospital smell death. Patients recovering in the hospital are psychologically affected by the smell.

I challenge the Ministry of Interior and National Administration and the relevant ministry, now that DNA samples have been taken, can the families be allowed to bury their loved ones? Even the case involving the infamous Pastor Mackenzie is almost concluded. It is public knowledge. Is it in order that the Government continues to detain 286 bodies for three-and-a-half years? These bodies were excavated from shallow graves and they are decomposing.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, can you direct the Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations to ensure that the bodies are released? You have the power and this is

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You have used your time very well. So, have a seat.

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

It is already concluded.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you must give me time because this also concerns you; you are equally from Kilifi. You have heard the Senator for Nandi make very grave allegations against men from Kilifi. To confirm the worst, the Senate Minority Leader, who is the Senator for Kilifi, was cheering and stamping his feet when the Senator for Nandi said men from Kilifi can no longer perform their duties.

Hon. Senator--- Proceed, Senator for Kilifi. The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Madzayo) :

Asante, Mstahiki Spika. Kiongozi

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Mr. Speaker, Sir, I stand to contribute to the issue of governors not appearing before the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I stand to contribute to the issue of governors not appearing before the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I know that the Senate is not completely helpless in this matter. Therefore, the law must be followed to the letter. I hope that sense will come to some of these governors who feel that they are next to God. We are all human and they must obey the law as it is. If they feel that there is any injustice, they also have a recourse. They can go and seek it elsewhere, but not to refuse to come to the Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. First, I want to contribute to Sen. Mungatana’s statement. Actually, it is very unfortunate for that part of the country to complain about blackouts. My own county, for the last three months, has been experiencing serious blackouts. Despite being in the month of Ramadhan where people require the utility of electricity, it is very unfortunate that Wajir County is still having the same problems. This is even after H.E, the President went there and promised that the blackouts would end soon. However, up to now, for the last one month, the blackouts have not ended.

Two, is on the statement made by the Majority Leader. It is very unfortunate that my governor is the Chairman of the Council of Governors (CoG) and also a FCPA holder. Instead of leading people from the front, he is going backwards and saying that he is not going to appear.

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Sen. Mungatana.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I wanted to comment on the statements by the Senate Majority Leader. The Governor of Tana River County should join the list of notorious governors who have failed to respond to and attend the Senate County Public Accounts Committee and there is a reason.

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Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. These governors who are rogue should stay in the Parliament Police Cells until they pay the fine of Kshs5 million. If we can make this pain be felt directly by these governors, then we will stop the drainage of funds.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this cannot go on. We cannot have governors who think this money belongs to them. We have never asked about how they use their salaries. We ask about how they are spending the county funds that belong to the people of Tana River County.

Shame on you, Mr. Governor, for the way you are misusing those funds. Shame on you for the lack of medicines in the hospital. Shame on you for the lack of---

Your time is up, Sen. Mungatana. Sen. Wambua Enoch, you may proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Two quick comments. One on the issue of the bodies lying at the Malindi Level 4 Hospital from Shakahola. There is dignity, but there is also indignity. Honestly, this is hardly a way of dealing with the dead in the African context and in the Kenyan context. It does not matter what explanations are available for this. You cannot have bodies lying inside a container, outside a public hospital and the relatives and the kin of those bodies are crying out to be given the bodies, to go and give them a dignified send-off. We leave it to the conscience

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Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, these governors, I am happy that we had a meeting today. I want to report to this House that because of the last appearance that the Inspector General (IG) had before the committee, he committed that he will be bringing governors that we order him to arrest and bring to us. We have decided that on Thursday next week, the Governor of Samburu County be brought before the committee in chains to answer to audit queries.

The IG should know that this is not a request; this is a directive. It is an agreement that we had with him, and committees of Parliament do not pronounce themselves in vain. Once the IG receives that official communication, I expect that the Governor of Samburu County will appear in chains on Thursday to answer to audit queries for---

The one-minute debt to Sen. Wambua is over. Indeed, just to confirm what you said, the Governor of Bomet County declined to appear before the Senate committee. Besides that, there are other contempt proceedings of not only the committees but other courts out of corruption allegations. Sen. Khalwale, please proceed.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we made a mistake - I am saying this in contribution to the statement by the Leader of the Majority - when we gave governors a Bill that allowed them to be called His Excellency, to fly the national flag, their wives to be called First Lady, to drive around in sirens and allowed them a retinue of police officers as escorts, we created the African man syndrome in them.

Therefore, this proposal by the Leader of the Majority should be accompanied by exercising Article 225 of the Constitution on financial control that allows us to stop 50 per cent of the funds due to the defiant governors. I was surprised that the person reading

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Sen. Faki, you asked for 30 seconds.

They have not ended.

Conclude, Sen. Faki, you are still on the Floor.

Moja ya sababu za kubanduliwa mamlakani ni kukataa kutii sheria na sheria inasema kwamba lazima waje katika Bunge la Seneti wajitetee kwa hesabu na ripoti zao ambazo zimetoka kwa mhasibu mkuu wa Serikali.

Sen. Wamatinga, please proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Although you have not made the communication, I would request upfront you add me a minute because the people sitting in the gallery are from my county. Since we might not be able to make the communication on time, I would want to request you to add me a minute to have the opportunity to welcome them.

Now that you have brought that to my attention, resume your seat so that I can make that communication.

Now that you have brought that to my attention, resume your seat so that I can make that communication.

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Thank you, Sen. Wamatinga. Hon. Senators, it has just been brought to my attention that today is the last day for consideration of the Motion on extension of time for consideration of the Sugar General Regulations, 2025. Sen. Olekina, you will be the next person to speak after we transact the business that I am trying to guide the House on. I immediately suspend

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March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 31

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I beg to move- THAT AWARE THAT the Sugar

Legal Notice No. 167 of 2025) and the Sugar

Regulations, 2025

were tabled in the Senate on 6th November, 2025, and referred to the Select Committee on Delegated Legislation for consideration pursuant to Section 12

(1)

of the Statutory Instruments Act; COGNIZANT THAT the Committee is required to make a report within 28 sitting days after the date of referral of the instruments by the Senate pursuant to Section 15

(2)

of the Statutory Instruments Act which will lapse on Tuesday, 17th March, 2026; AWARE THAT Section 15

(3)

of the Statutory Instruments Act provides that, by a resolution, Parliament may extend the time for consideration of a Statutory Instrument by a period not exceeding 21 calendar days; NOTING THAT the Committee requires additional time to consider issues arising from stakeholder consultations and to allow for further engagement on the Regulations; NOW THEREFORE, the Senate, pursuant to Section 15

(3)

of the Statutory Instruments Act, resolves to extend the timeline for the consideration of the Sugar

(General)

Regulations, 2025

and the Sugar

Regulations, 2025

for a further 21 calendar days to enable the Committee to conclude its consideration and table its report on or before, Tuesday, 31st March, 2026. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I request Sen. Dr. Danson Buya Mungatana to second.

Sen. Mungatana.

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Sen. Lemaletian, take the next seat to you.

Thank you.

Sen. Cherarkey, Sen. Murgor, and the Senate Minority Leader, please take your seats.

Hon. Members, having proposed the question, this Motion is available for your comments. However, it being a Procedural Motion with your concurrence, I propose that I proceed to put the question.

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Sen. Olekina, there is a point of order from Sen. Cherarkey. I will allow him to raise the order. Give him the microphone.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise on accuracy of facts as stated on Standing Order No.105. Is it in order for the distinguished Senator of Narok County, whom I have tremendous respect for and whose Governor has appeared before Senate the CPAC, to say Senators are insulting governors? In fact, the governors are worse because they name and shame some of us without even going through any procedure. Is it in order to say we are insulting governors? Can he withdraw and apologise? Article 96, is clear. We do oversight. We do not insult anybody. Is he in order?

Sen. Olekina, you have heard the point of order by Sen. Cherarkey.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there is a reason why people become number one or last in class. If the distinguished Senator would be patient and listen to my submissions, then he would understand that I said, there is no need for us to throw jabs at each other. I never, at any point, made a statement that Senators are insulting governors. If we could pay attention, it would really help us a lot.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would like to go back to my submissions.

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Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is time we started issuing summonses. I am not of the opinion that we should start calling governors to come to plenary because we have able committees that can carry out the work that they have been given. Calling them here either indicates that we do not have powers to ensure that governors appear here.

Article 125 of the Constitution is very clear. The Senate has the power to summon a witness from anywhere in the world to appear before a committee to respond. Article 226 (5) of the Constitution is also quite clear---

Give Sen. Olekina 90 seconds. Please proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Article 226 (5) states that if a holder of a public office misappropriates funds, that person is liable; whether in office or outside office. Therefore, there is no point of us beating ourselves because governors have decided not to appear.

What is important is that we must ask ourselves simple questions. When we summoned, were those summonses worded clearly and did they indicate the consequences? We have Section 19 of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act which is quite clear. It has got penalties. The last time I checked, it was about Kshs500,000 but we wanted to amend it to Kshs5 million and also five years in prison---

On a point of information!

Sen. Olekina, Sen. Samson Cherarkey wants to inform you. Do you want to be informed?

Absolutely.

Proceed, Senator for Nandi.

By the way, my brother Sen. Ledama, you spoke very well when we were in the funeral. Thank you for that.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I wanted to inform Sen. Ledama that we have issued summonses to about 10 governors and it is well worded that they must appear. I am

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How much time do I have?

You have got 45 seconds.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for me to conclude my submissions, let me just reiterate that accountability cannot be boycotted. You may run away from it today, but tomorrow when you are sitting down in your manicured mansion compound under a beautiful umbrella tree, the law will catch up with you. If you look at the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act---

This is what I normally say. Governors do not sign any cheques. The people who sign cheques are Chief Officers (COs) and County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) . In fact, the CECM for Finance is the head of treasury. Sen. M. Kajwang’, the Chairperson of County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) , it is time you came up with a proper legal framework to ensure that you call these people to account.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I do not know if I can conclude---

Your time is up, Sen. Olekina. Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Madzayo, the Chair has acceded to your request. I want to give you the opportunity to proceed to comment.

The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Madzayo) : Bw. Spika wa Muda, kwanza, ningependa kuunga mkono kauli iliyoletwa na Kiongozi wa Wengi katika Seneti, Sen. Cheruiyot. La muhimu ni kwamba lazima kuwe na uhusiano bora baina ya Maseneta hususan walio katika kamati yetu ya kuchunguza matumizi ya pesa katika---

Bw. Spika wa Muda, nitetee kidogo.

Get assisted, then resume your seat. Proceed,

Shukrani, Bw. Spika wa Muda. Vile vile ningependa kusema kuwa serikali zetu za kaunti zinazoongozwa na magavana zinatakiwa kuwa na majukumu na kila mtu anajukumika kisheria na kikatiba. Ni jambo la kusikitisha kwamba hivi sasa hatuelewani na ndio sababu kumekuwa na mushkil. Sisi kama viongozi wa Seneti tutafanya bidii. Ningependa kuwahakikishia kwamba tutafanya bidii kuona kwamba tunaketi chini ili kuondoa tofauti zetu. Sioni jinsi gavana anaweza kuja hapa na kuuliza swali ambalo tutakosa kujibu.

Bw. Spika wa Muda, kwanza, ningependa kuunga mkono kauli iliyoletwa na Kiongozi wa Wengi katika Seneti, Sen. Cheruiyot. La muhimu ni kwamba lazima kuwe na uhusiano bora baina ya Maseneta hususan walio katika kamati yetu ya kuchunguza matumizi ya pesa katika--- (Sen. Cherarkey consulted loudly) Bw. Spika wa Muda, nitetee kidogo.

Get assisted, then resume your seat. Proceed,

Shukrani, Bw. Spika wa Muda. Vile vile ningependa kusema kuwa serikali zetu za kaunti zinazoongozwa na magavana zinatakiwa kuwa na majukumu na kila mtu anajukumika kisheria na kikatiba. Ni jambo la kusikitisha kwamba hivi sasa hatuelewani na ndio sababu kumekuwa na mushkil. Sisi kama viongozi wa Seneti tutafanya bidii. Ningependa kuwahakikishia kwamba tutafanya bidii kuona kwamba tunaketi chini ili kuondoa tofauti zetu. Sioni jinsi gavana anaweza kuja hapa na kuuliza swali ambalo tutakosa kujibu.

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 36

Sen. Madzayo, I will add you one minute. The Senate Minority Leader (

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I would like to comment on the statement on the killings by police.

As you have heard from the statement requested by Hon. Cherarkey, the incident was at the University of Nairobi (UoN) , Kikuyu campus. Recently, we saw what happened in Sen. Eddy Oketch’s county and many other incidents including attacks on politicians and nothing happens at all.

There must be a way the Constitution is fulfilled in this. It is not just about compensation to young people who get killed by police either intentionally or accidentally. Under the law, there can only be a misadventure or somebody with intention, carelessly or negligently kills another person. There is no case of misadventure in the current situation.

Clearly, the police have been errant such as in the case of Nandi County where young people were beaten up. Up to today, no report or an update has been filed by the police department or whether, the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) has done anything.

I am aware that there are quite a number of prosecution cases that they have done. For example, the one that happened in Makueni where a young child was killed in a place called Kambu. The police officer has now been arrested and in fact, has been denied bail by the High Court in Makueni, for having threatened witnesses, just before he was arrested by IPOA.

I think that particular case is commendable. I personally pushed for it when this lady had been arrested and her child beaten to death by a police officer in Kambu Police Post. I am happy some justice is happening. However, there are more than 100 other cases where we need to see action especially, where maandamano was involved.

Whether maandamano or no maandamano, life is very important. It is very important that everybody lives and their life should not to be taken away illegally. Even in a case where somebody is sentenced to murder, nowadays, under the new Constitution, it is commuted into a life sentence. This shows how important the life of young Kenyans is, especially. Some leave their homes without knowing that they will accidentally die just like Rex Masai, who was on his way to work and found riots in town. Some out of excitement, just came to this House and lost their lives through police. The promise to compensate their families is not sufficient, you cannot---

Sen. Maanzo, thank you. Sen. Mandago, proceed.

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Sen. Lemaletian Hezena, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to contribute to the statement by Sen. Cherarkey of Nandi County on the role of the Council of Governors (CoG) in appointments to various boards, task forces and committees.

The whole purpose of devolution was to ensure that each county has a representation at the national level and that there was equitable distribution of the national cake across the whole country especially, in the most marginalised parts of this country such as Samburu and Turkana counties.

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Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Speaker. I rise to comment on the statement by the Senate Majority Leader on appearance of governors in the two oversight committees of the Senate. I speak here as a two-term governor who faithfully and dutifully attended all the summons in the Senate to account for the resources that were given to my responsibility as the governor of Uasin Gishu County.

I urge the current governors that;you cannot run away from accountability, whether now or in the future. In fact, my advice to the governors is that, you are better off sorting your audit queries when you are still in office because you still have access to documents and records for the activities or services you rendered to the people with the money that we appropriated to your counties.

It is quite unfortunate when you hear some governors saying that they cannot appear, yet, every other financial year before revenue is shared between the national and county governments, they are always at the doors of the Chairperson of the Committee on Finance and Budget and the entire Senate asking that we support them to get additional resources.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, from when devolution started in this country in 2013, a county such as Uasin Ngishu started with an allocation of Kshs3.5 billion. Today as we speak, courtesy of the Senate of the Republic of Kenya, Uasin Gishu County receives over Kshs10 billion every financial year. It would therefore be callous of governors to imagine that they can receive such enormous amount of resources and fail to account for them.

I agree with Sen. Ledama that those governors must receive summons and appear before those committees. If they fail, there are options for them to be frogmarched by the police to forcefully appear.

We also ask the other sister institutions responsible for accountability that when a governor refuses to appear and answer to those audit queries before the Senate, then the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) must kick in and straightaway, take that matter to court. I remind governors that the opportunity to appear before the committees is to enable them explain how the funds were used in what has been queried and avail documents where the documents have not been availed. Failure to do that, the EACC must kick in immediately. You are being given a bridge between being taken to court for those audit queries and to respond and explain before the two accountability committees of the Senate and the entire Senate.

We remind governors that the Senators that sit in those committees do not sit there on their own behalf. They sit on behalf of the Senate---

Sen. Lemaletian Hezena, proceed.

of this House, that borders on criminality, abuse of law and we must compel those governors to appear before those relevant committees to say what they have been able to do with that money on behalf of the people that they represent in their respective counties. I support, honourable Temporary Speaker.

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When I was working for one of the State Departments before I joined this honourable House, I was very disappointed that there were people there who had already surpassed the retirement age; people who were supposed to be back at home taking care of their great-grandchildren. They were there trying to beep computers yet we have so many unemployed people and youth across the country. There is need to also right size and ensure that the people who are employed are fit for the job. Last but not least, when it comes to marginalisation, those of us who come from marginalised parts of this country understand the pain of not being included in the sharing of the national revenue and national cake. It is even more crippled by the fact that we do not have sufficient representation in offices that matter. The work and role of these national boards is very critical. This is where they make very key decisions that influence how much resources are being pumped or distributed across the whole country. Therefore, it is very imperative that this matter is taken into serious consideration. I am happy that it is coming before my Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Give Sen. Methu 30 seconds.

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 40

of this House, that borders on criminality, abuse of law and we must compel those governors to appear before those relevant committees to say what they have been able to do with that money on behalf of the people that they represent in their respective counties. I support, honourable Temporary Speaker.

they come and say; what have you been doing with all this money that we are sending to the counties. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

The governors are refusing to appear before the Senate through its committees. I had to scan through the Constitution. If there is one word that has been repeated consistently, including Chapter 13 on public service, in terms of values and principles of public service, one of them is efficient, effective and economic use of resources. Another one is accountability for administrative acts. Another one is transparency and provision to the public, of timely and accurate information. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, what the Senate is asking for are the documents of expenditure that have happened in our county governments. As I wind up my thoughts on this particular matter, it cannot be that the governors are our friends. They---

Give Sen. Methu 30 seconds.

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. It cannot be that governors are foaming in the mouth when they are telling us to push the equitable allocation from the national Government to Kshs450 billion or Kshs500 billion and when they get the money, they do not want to account for it. We must ensure that we force them and the word is “force”. We must force them to appear before the Senate, so that

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 41

they come and say; what have you been doing with all this money that we are sending to the counties. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Lastly, I will allow the Chairperson of CPAC, Sen. M. Kajwang', to comment on this statement or any other statement for that matter that was earlier on raised.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, I am moving the Health (Amendment) Bill, 2025.The gist of the amendment is that I propose to amend the Health Act by inserting a new Section 7.

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 42

Sorry, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I beg to move that, the Health Amendment Bill, Senate Bill No.12 of 2025, be read a Second Time.

The amendment proposes to amend the Health Act 2025, by inserting a new Section 7A to address a number of issues affecting those who are not able to pay medical bills that are incurred in our public hospitals and in some cases, private hospitals.

I am sure that all of us, Senators from our respective counties, have had instances where those we refer to as hustlers, who are not well-endowed financially, get attended to in hospitals and incur medical bills, but because they do not have the economic means, they end up not paying their medical bills, either in public or private hospitals. What has been happening, which is very unfortunate, is that hospitals have resorted to recovering their debts by either detaining patients in some instances, detaining mothers and their babies in hospitals as a way of holding them in lien until their debt is paid.

The proposal on the table, through this amendment, is to outlaw any detention of a patient or a corpse due to an outstanding fee incurred in relation to any treatment offered in a health facility. To make that proposed amendment effective, Section 7A (2) , proposes that anybody who is in charge of a health facility who contravenes that section that outlaws detention, commits an offence.

Thirdly, so that we have a buy-in from the Government, I have proposed in Clause 3 that the Cabinet Secretary responsible for Health will make regulations on the enforcement of this proposed amendment. I emphasise, before the honourable Senators here, that this amendment is anchored on a number of constitutional rights that are guaranteed in our Constitution of Kenya, 2010. We all know that when that Constitution was enacted, it created a very vibrant Bill of Rights. Some of the rights that were guaranteed to Kenya is what is found in Article 43 of the Constitution. I do not want to read the entire of Article 43, but in a nutshell Article 43 states that-

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Thank you, Senior Counsel Sen. Omogeni. In fact, as a matter of precedence, the pronouncements the courts have made on this have used some specific quotes, including the fact that you cannot punish poverty to the extent that if---

Sorry, there is a problem with the microphone. Try it now. It is up on my end. You are now on, Sen. Wambua. The system has picked up. You may need to use the Dispatch Box.

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Thank you, Sen. Wambua.

The Bill is now available for contribution by Members, and I will invite Sen. Mungatana to contribute to the Bill.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to make my contribution in support of this amendment. I start by

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Sen. Samson Cherarkey, please proceed.

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Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, what I was trying to put across is that---

It is good that Sen. Methu has just walked in when I am driving the point hot and dry---

Sen. Cherarkey, please hold on. The Senior Counsel is attempting to catch the eye of the Chair. Are you willing to be informed by Sen. Okong’o Omogeni?

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 51

All right. Proceed, Sen. Omogeni.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I just wanted to inform Sen. Cherarkey. He has made some pronouncement to the effect that the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) has removed the Nairobi Hospital from facilities that are

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 52

Fair enough. Proceed, Sen. Cherarkey.

Thank you for that information. As the crisis happens, I hope services will also improve because it is one of the premium hospitals in the country. I hope the PSC will also do due diligence because the last time I went there, services were not good. I hope they will rectify. I had to stay over two hours before receiving medical attention. Therefore, the President’s intervention was very timely in terms of ensuring good governance and corporate responsibility.

I would like to send Sen. Methu to his new-found political soul mate, the former Deputy President, to advise him to keep off matters to do with health. They can do politics with anything else but not health. Let us allow the health sector to thrive. If you look at the number of people registered with SHA, Nyeri Couinty, which is the home county of the former Deputy President is leading.

Yesterday I was happy when I listened to Sauti ya Mwananchi on Citizen Television. There is a woman who said that she was owed Kshs165,000 and SHA paid Kshs145,000. That means that SHA is working. Let us look for other things that we can do politics with and not with the lives of Kenyans.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me continue driving my points hot and hard. I am happy that Sen. Methu has been writing notes as I speak so that he can convey it verbatim.

Under Article 43 (2) of the Constitution, seeking of medical emergency is a constitutional right. I agree with Sen. Mungatana that these private hospitals must tell the country what law they are using to detain dead bodies and the people who have recovered. The Senior Counsel is familiar with the small claims court where they pursue debt recovery during civil proceedings.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the other day, I was shocked with Mr. Tuju’s case because, equally, a bank loan is a civil matter which should be pursued in a civil manner. If, for example, Sen. Methu fails to pay a civil debt, you commit him to civil jail and do recovery.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you are one of the senior lawyers of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and my former attorney in other matters when I was fighting the other regime. I also thank Senior Counsel, Sen. Okong’o Omogeni, whom within two minutes, had completed two charges. In fact, I am wondering why he is still a Senator, he should be the Chief Justice or the Governor of Nyamira County. You remember that because he was on record.

This is a civil matter. Even Mr. Tuju’s case with the bank is a civil matter and the police should not be involved. We must tell ourselves that we need to obey the rule of law under Article 10 on national values and principles of good governance.

Doctors took what we call a hippocratical oath to protect lives, not to get money. I am not against doctors. They are my good friends. I know a number of my friends who

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Fair enough. Proceed, Sen. Cherarkey.

Thank you for that information. As the crisis happens, I hope services will also improve because it is one of the premium hospitals in the country. I hope the PSC will also do due diligence because the last time I went there, services were not good. I hope they will rectify. I had to stay over two hours before receiving medical attention. Therefore, the President’s intervention was very timely in terms of ensuring good governance and corporate responsibility.

I would like to send Sen. Methu to his new-found political soul mate, the former Deputy President, to advise him to keep off matters to do with health. They can do politics with anything else but not health. Let us allow the health sector to thrive. If you look at the number of people registered with SHA, Nyeri Couinty, which is the home county of the former Deputy President is leading.

Yesterday I was happy when I listened to Sauti ya Mwananchi on Citizen Television. There is a woman who said that she was owed Kshs165,000 and SHA paid Kshs145,000. That means that SHA is working. Let us look for other things that we can do politics with and not with the lives of Kenyans.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me continue driving my points hot and hard. I am happy that Sen. Methu has been writing notes as I speak so that he can convey it verbatim.

Under Article 43 (2) of the Constitution, seeking of medical emergency is a constitutional right. I agree with Sen. Mungatana that these private hospitals must tell the country what law they are using to detain dead bodies and the people who have recovered. The Senior Counsel is familiar with the small claims court where they pursue debt recovery during civil proceedings.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the other day, I was shocked with Mr. Tuju’s case because, equally, a bank loan is a civil matter which should be pursued in a civil manner. If, for example, Sen. Methu fails to pay a civil debt, you commit him to civil jail and do recovery.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you are one of the senior lawyers of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and my former attorney in other matters when I was fighting the other regime. I also thank Senior Counsel, Sen. Okong’o Omogeni, whom within two minutes, had completed two charges. In fact, I am wondering why he is still a Senator, he should be the Chief Justice or the Governor of Nyamira County. You remember that because he was on record.

This is a civil matter. Even Mr. Tuju’s case with the bank is a civil matter and the police should not be involved. We must tell ourselves that we need to obey the rule of law under Article 10 on national values and principles of good governance.

Doctors took what we call a hippocratical oath to protect lives, not to get money. I am not against doctors. They are my good friends. I know a number of my friends who

March, 17, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 53

Sen. Cherarkey, when the House resumes, you will have eight minutes remaining to conclude on your contribution to this Bill.

Hon. Senators, it is now 6.30 p.m. time to adjourn the Senate. The Senate, therefore, stands adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, 18th March, 2026, at 9.30 a.m.

The Senate rose at 6.30 p.m.