Wednesday, 10th June 2026

Sergeant-at-Arms, ring the Quorum Bell.

Hon. Members, we now have quorum to transact business.

Hon. Members, take your seats. I have two Petitions to convey to the House.

The Petition has expressed concern that the TSC Code of Regulations for Teachers, which provides for promotion of teachers in accordance with the schemes of service, and which provide for common cadre establishment and promotion and competitive promotion has not been met. Further, the petitioners have heard that deputy principals duly appointed between 2001 and 2014 under the scheme of services replaced by the current Career Progress Guidelines have been systematically downgraded, denied rightful promotions and unfairly discriminated against despite having served faithfully over this period. The petitioners state that they have made several efforts to have their concerns addressed through the TSC to no avail.

The petitioners have found that the issues raised in this Petition are not pending before any court of law, constitutional body or other legal forum. The petitioners, therefore, pray that the National Assembly:

I was giving way to the other Members who are behind me.

Hon. Makilap, where is your nearest seat?

Hon. Members, the next Petition regards historical land injustices. Article 119 of the Constitution accords every person the right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within its authority. Further, Standing Order 225 (2) (b) requires the Speaker to report to the House any Petition other than those presented by a Member. In this regard, I wish to report that my office has received a Petition from Mr Kipkoech arap Chumo of ID No. 36XXXX99 and others, representing Chang Kelek Kipsigis Ogiek squatters and residents of Kericho County. The Petition concerns historical land injustices and the proposed conversion of public land LR25005 Kericho/Samburet to community land for human settlement.

The Petition has drawn the attention of the House to the historical land injustices suffered by their community that comprises approximately 1,500 members who originally inhabited the Kibulgeni Samburet Mokokwegaa Forest. They affirm that the colonial administration forcefully evicted them from the forest in 1913, resulting in the loss of their ancestral land, traditional livelihoods, and cultural heritage.

The petitioners state that following their displacement, they were relocated to the Chemgondany, Marinyi, and Chebkoiben Tea Estates. They were compelled to serve as casual labourers under colonial labour laws without secure land tenure. In 1962, companies, including African Highlands Produce Company Limited and Finlay's Kenya Limited, issued eviction notices to resident labourers and their families, effectively rendering them squatters.

The petitioners further express their disappointment that despite the 2001 eviction of the Mau Forest complex under Legal Notice No.328 of 30th January 2001, which was intended to resettle the Ogiek community and victims of land clashes, the petitioners were excluded and remained landless.

This exclusion has resulted in acute land fragmentation and persistent displacement. The petitioners conclude by making reference to a Motion of No Objection regarding the conversion of LR No.25005/Kericho/Samuret, hived off the South-West Mau Forest, from public land to community land for human settlement. The Kericho County Assembly approved it on 17th March 2021. This resolution affirms the legitimacy of the petitioners' claim and the urgent need for correction action.

The petitioners, therefore, pray that the National Assembly:

Hon. Speaker, I would like to comment on the two petitions. I want to start with the one on promotion of deputy headteachers. I left the teaching profession when I was serving as a Deputy Principal. The work of a Deputy Principal sometimes supersedes the work that the Principal. The Deputy Principal does a lot of work on

the day-to-day running of schools. I actually left when I was in Job Group N, and I was considered one of those very senior deputy principals.

Is it the same Petition?

Yes. I do not know whether it was concluded or not. There were matters pertaining to Chemorer and Sigowet, and the Kericho land issue. It involved African Highlands Produce Company. The people of Kericho have suffered for many years. This is not the first or second time they have brought this matter to Parliament. They have gone to court and pursued every available avenue, but they have not had any reprieve.

It is important that the 13th Parliament stands out as the one that will solve the problem facing the people of Kericho. I pity them. The people of the Coast and Kericho face similar challenges. We are in the same boat. His Excellency the President is solving the land problem at the Coast. We now have a chance to resolve the problem facing the people of Kericho. I request this House to pave the way for a lasting solution to these land matters.

With those remarks, I support the Petition and urge the Committee to help the people.

Hon. Jayne Kihara.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving this chance to welcome all the students visiting Parliament today, particularly those from Enaiposha Girls’ High School, whom I had a chance to meet. I encourage them to maintain discipline.

Are you welcoming students or speaking to the petitions?

I am welcoming the students. I can still contribute to the petitions.

Four years of secondary school education is a very short time. Do those other things when you are done with school. You took an oath to behave at school.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you. None of you should follow that precedent.

Yes.

We are dealing with the petitions. We are not welcoming students at this particular time. Next is Hon. Oundo.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Allow me to comment on the first Petition. My colleague has clearly said that the second Petition was brought here in the last Parliament. I hope it will be dispensed of. These are some of the challenges we had as the Public Petitions Committee, which need to be resolved.

The issue of deputy principals is becoming a very emotive and demoralising situation. Generally, it is the entire career progression in the teaching profession. It has reached a point where we no longer have enough teachers who are qualified to take up positions as deputy principals.

I urge the Departmental Committee on Education, the Ministry of Education and the TSC to rethink this matter. Teachers stagnating in one job group for many years is extremely demoralising. The situation where there are limited opportunities for teachers to be promoted to deputy principals is demoralising.

As I speak, Busia County has a shortage of about 30 deputy principals and 50 principals. Some teachers have been acting as school principals in some schools for the last three years, but they are not even due for promotion to Deputy Principal positions. We urge the Committee to move with speed. We cannot wait for long. Resolve this matter once and for all.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Osoro.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I wish to comment on the second Petition on the Kericho land issue.

I partly grew up in Kericho. At that time, the tea plantation company was known as African Highlands. It quickly changed hands and became Finlays Company. The estate mentioned is located next to Chemasingi Primary School, which I attended. If you listen to the stories of the squatters and residents in that area, you will sympathise with them. A company comes in, provides employment opportunities and later on, it introduces machinery, lays off workers, takes their land, and tells them that they can no longer be employed and that even the places where they lived no longer belonged to them. I left Chemasingi Primary School about 28 years ago. Those people continue to face the same land challenges they faced then.

This House should take this matter seriously. As we engage the Public Petitions Committee, I urge your office to involve the Departmental Committee on Lands. The Committee will listen to all sides and make recommendations. It is within the Committee’s mandate. However, the underlying land issues are deep. The people of that area have been used and dumped. They have suffered so much. Beyond displacement and land disputes, they have also suffered damages and health challenges. There are no nearby hospitals available to them. They are not allowed to access the hospitals established within the area, unless they are employed there. Their land has been occupied for more than 30 years.

For over 100 years.

It is over 30 years. This House should have a multi-disciplinary committee engagement to make sure that these people get justice. It is long overdue. We cannot continue revisiting the same issue year in, year out.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Next is Hon. Cherorot. Take one minute or two minutes maximum.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Let me comment on the land issue in Kericho. The Samburet land is in my constituency. The land issue has existed for a very long time. As we speak, we are sitting on a time bomb. We have different groups claiming ownership of the same parcel of land, which is approximately 1,500 acres. There are different title deeds for the same land. That is why I recommend that, in addition to the Public Petitions Committee, the Departmental Committee on Lands be involved so that thorough investigation can be conducted to settle the matter once and for all.

The challenge is that the said land was previously used for tea research. When the research activities were relocated, the land remained vacant. There is conflict between James Brown and the local residents, who claim ownership of the land. Recently, a lot of boda boda riders entered the area claiming rights over the same land. This is a matter of urgency and must be dealt with once and for all.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Next is

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. The microphone is not working.

Give

Hon. Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment specifically on the petition on the land in Kericho. For over a century, the people of Kericho have suffered great injustice. Whenever you pass along the main road going to Kisii, you see a vast stretch of green land. Yet, the original people of Kericho were pushed to the periphery. Any effort we have made in the past to seek restitution - some form of compensation and reparations - has not been successful. I hope that as the Petitions Committee considers this matter, they will invite us, the leaders from Kericho, to give our input. The tea estates have been changing names over the years. In the last two years, they changed their name to James Browns. Upon rebranding, they promised the people of Kericho that 15 per cent of the tea estates in Kericho would be taken over by the County Government of Kericho so that the people could benefit from them. They also promised that Ksh2 billion would be given to the people of Kericho for various projects. None of these promises has come to fruition. Therefore, I urge that this matter be dealt with urgently so that the people of Kericho can get compensated for the land that was taken away from them. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Next is Hon. Dorothy Ikiara.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also wish to add my voice to the petition on teacher promotion. As we sit in this House and reflect on the work that teachers across the ranks do - not just deputy principals and Principals - we must appreciate that this petition is both timely and necessary. We have canvassed this issue in the House before. I want to challenge the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Education and all other stakeholders. It is very demoralising for a teacher to be employed and retire after 40 years of service in the same grade. This is a matter that calls for a policy shift. It is the right time for us to review our policies to uplift the morale of the teachers of this country. Notwithstanding the treatment they receive, teachers remain committed to ensuring that they religiously do their work without minding what they go through. The Chairperson of the Education Committee is here. Let this Petition be taken seriously. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Mwalimu Kombe.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. The issue of deputy principals stagnating in one grade for so long is truly alarming. I know some teachers

who I worked with when I was a teacher. They remained in the same grade for over nine years. Some served in acting capacities for more than 10 years without confirmation. It is high time the Ministry and TSC took measures to review the policy to ensure that a teacher who is appointed to act as Deputy Principal serves for a specified period of time before being confirmed and subsequently considered for promotion to school principal. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Next is the Member for Sirisia.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me a chance to also comment on the Kericho land issue. This Petition was brought to the House before the 11th Parliament. The people of Kericho have suffered a great deal since Independence. This matter should be taken seriously by Parliament to ensure that action is taken so that the people of Kericho can be given alternative land. The colonial settlers greatly disadvantaged our people. We are no longer living in colonial times. Kenya is independent. As a country, we should take care of our people so that they do not continue to be squatters in their own country. Even for us in Western Kenya, with our large population—we are currently the most populous regional block in the country—this is an issue that requires attention. We are now said to be the largest populous community in this country but the space available to us continues to shrink. I urge the Government to also consider providing the Luhya community alternative settlement land because we are very congested.

Your time is up. We will have Hon. Janet Sitienei, who will be finally followed by Hon. Rindikiri.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to comment on the first petition. The face and discipline of a school often rest with the Deputy Principal. Therefore, denying deputy principals the opportunity to progress in their careers amounts to justice denied. Many deputy principals have remained in the same job group for long periods of time. We have had this information since they normally reach out to us. Recently, in my constituency, when we sought principals to head schools, we could hardly find any because of delayed career progression among deputy principals. Therefore, this Petition is timely. I urge the Committee that has been assigned this Petition to ensure that justice is done to deputy principals. It is important that teachers, principals and deputy principals progress through their job groups in a timely manner so that they remain motivated rather than get demoralised and disgruntled. This is so that they deliver their mandates with dedication. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I wish to speak about two forms of discrimination by TSC. First, there is the stagnation of teachers at the level of Deputy Principal or Deputy Headteacher. We are seeing a trend where TSC conducts promotions in some counties while discriminating against others. You will find that promotions are undertaken and interviews conducted in certain counties, after which teachers are transferred from those counties to other counties, thereby denying opportunity to local teachers for upward mobility as principals or headteachers. This issue is likely to become even more complex with the introduction of Junior School (JSS) . We are wondering who is going to be responsible for JSS. Are we going to rely on existing teachers or will we draw from those who have already developed the capacity to handle JSS? This is another issue that TSC needs to address urgently. My point is that TSC should come up with a policy that ensures teachers from all counties are considered for promotion rather than discriminating against some counties and favouring one county.

My point is that we should not allow TSC to advance a policy of promoting deputy principals in one particular county and posting them as school Principals in other counties thus disenfranchising deputy principals deserving promotions in those other counties. That amounts to discrimination against other counties. If TSC is allowed to continue managing the education sector in the manner they are doing now, we will get into serious problems. Some of the issues being raised today, and the abhorrent activities being witnessed in schools, could be related to demoralisation of teachers. We do not want our teachers to be demoralised. Everybody deserves promotion. Let everybody do what...

Thank you. We will leave it at that. The petitions stand committed to the two Departmental Committees. I got what Hon. Osoro said about the Kericho land. It might be a matter of good procedure to have the Departmental Committee on Lands enjoined. Is Hon. Nyamoko in the House? Do we have any Member from the Departmental Committee on Lands? Yes, Major. You will inform your Chair that you will partner with the Public Petitions

Committee on the Kericho land Petition.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I want to welcome the students to Parliament today. I remember when I was in high school, one day we visited Parliament and I learned something. I want to welcome the students from Inyokoni and other schools and tell them that today, as they are here, they should learn something so that in future, they can sit where we are seated today. I also want to encourage them. As parents, we advise them that burning of schools cannot earn them anything. It is only good discipline that can earn them something. I welcome them and thank them for coming to Parliament.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you. On my behalf and on behalf of the House, I welcome the students, their teachers and those accompanying them to the House of Parliament.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the House:

Reports of the Auditor-General and Financial Statements for the years ended 30th June 2021, 30th June 2022, 30th June 2023, 30th June, 2024 and 30th June, 2025 and the certificates therein in respect of the following Schools—

Next is the Chairperson of the Decentralised Funds Accounts Committee. Is that Hon. Mulyungi?

Go ahead.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following papers on the Table of the House:

Reports of Decentralised Funds Accounts Committee on its consideration of reports of the Auditor-General as follows—

Next is the Chair, Committee on Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library, Hon. Nanok.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the House:

Report of the Committee of Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library on the establishment of parliamentary corners in national and county libraries. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Next order.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notices of the following Motions:

Pass on to the Committee on Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library, Hon. Nanok.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:

THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Committee on Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library on the establishment of parliamentary corners in national and county libraries, laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 10th June 2026. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Next Order.

Let us have the Nominated Member, Hon. Abubakar Talib.

Hon. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I rise to request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security regarding the unlawful enforcement of night-to-dawn curfew in parts of Lamu County.

On 21st May 2026, the Garsen High Court issued conservatory orders suspending enforcement of the Public Order

(Curfew)

Order,

Thank you, Hon. Talib. Let us have the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security, Hon. Tongoyo. Hon. Kahangara, when can you bring a response?

Hon. Speaker, we will bring a response in two weeks’ time.

Thank you. Let us have the Member for Mandera South, Hon. Abdul Haro.

Hon. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I wish to request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations regarding the trafficking and smuggling of Kenyan citizens through the Kenya - Ethiopia - Sudan - Libya - Europe Corridor.

Reports by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) , the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other international migration-monitoring and human rights organizations indicate that Kenyan citizens have increasingly become victims of trafficking and migrant smuggling networks operating through irregular migration routes through Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya towards Europe. The networks reportedly operate through a structured chain of local recruiters, cross-border transporters and traffickers who lure victims and facilitate their movement through Ethiopia and Sudan into Libya. Once in Libya, many victims are reportedly subjected to forced labour, extortion and arbitrary detention, with some forced to pay ransom and held in inhumane conditions while others are trafficked to Europe. The continued operation of these networks, supported by the economic vulnerabilities of victims, pose a grave threat to the freedom from servitude, safety, welfare and dignity of Kenyan citizens.

It is against this background that I request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations on the following:

Let us have the Chairperson or any Member of the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations. Yes, Hon Kandie. Are two weeks enough?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I will convey the message to my Chairman. We will ensure that we bring a response in two weeks’ time.

Thank you. Let us have the Women Representative for Isiolo County, Hon. Mumina Bonaya.

Hon. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I rise to request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Energy regarding the lack of electricity connectivity in several public primary and secondary schools in Isiolo County.

Access to electricity is fundamental for facilitating curriculum implementation and successful integration of technology in learning institutions. Despite the Government's efforts to expand electricity access across the country, many public schools in Isiolo County, particularly in the rural sub-counties, remain without electricity. The affected schools are distributed across the county as follows: Nine primary schools and two secondary schools in Cherab Ward; three primary schools and one secondary school in Chari Ward; four primary schools and two secondary schools in Oldonyiro Ward; nine primary schools and two secondary schools in Sericho Ward; nine primary schools and two secondary schools in Garbatulla Ward, and 12 primary schools and three secondary schools in Ngaremara and Burat wards. This brings the total number of public schools without electricity in Isiolo County to

The Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Energy. Any Member from the Committee? Hon. Aramat, are you a Member? Give him the Microphone.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. We can give the response in a week.

In a week. So next week on Wednesday?

Yes.

Fine.

Thank you.

Dr Ojiambo Oundo, Member of Parliament for Funyula.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Pursuant to the provision of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I rise to request a Statement on behalf of Kenyan journalists employed as staff members or freelancers by international media houses regarding the systematic exploitation, racial discrimination and violation of the constitutionally granted labour rights.

Kenyan journalists working for prominent international media organisations, among them the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Africa, Cable News Network (CNN) , Reuters, Bloomberg News, Agence France-Presse, Al Jazeera, Voice of America, and Associated Press, have for years endured abuse, entrenched racism, and pervasive discrimination in both hiring practices and remuneration. Many have been intimidated into silence whenever there are concerns about the stark disparity between their pay and that of their foreign counterparts performing similar roles within the same organisations.

Evidence shows that Kenyan journalists earn a fraction of what their foreign counterparts receive for equivalent pay. For instance, they are paid approximately US$1,500 per month while foreign journalists who are taking similar assignments earn up to US$10,000 per month. Freelance journalists face similar inequities, where they are paid as little as US$150 per story, while foreign journalists are paid upward of US$1,500 per story. Bureau chiefs have further aggravated this injustice by blacklisting Kenyan journalists, particularly freelancers, who dare to speak out against the inequities.

The exploitation is compounded by the fact that Kenya hosts the highest number of foreign correspondents on the African continent, who obtain freelance visas and directly displace qualified Kenyan journalists from employment and freelance opportunities in their own country. These systematic violations of the law have left hundreds of skilled Kenyan media professionals without recourse, and all efforts to resolve the matter through labour and bodies have yielded no meaningful results.

It is against this background that I seek a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Labour on the following:

Thank you, Hon. Oundo.

As you direct the Departmental Committee on Labour, there was also a matter raised here in November last year, and it was never responded to. I raised it again in February this year, and to date, there has been no response.

Which Committee did you ask?

The Departmental Committee on Labour. It concerned the harassment and mistreatment of a Kenyan worker employed on a Chinese farm. As you direct them, please be magnanimous enough to ask them to bring that response as well. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you, Hon. Oundo. The Speaker does not request; he directs. Where is the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Labour? Who is the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Labour?

Hon. Chonga.

It is Hon. Ken Chonga. He seems not to be in. Hon. Owen Baya, today, all your Committee Chairpersons are not here.

Impeach them.

I can only see Hon. Mutunga. Hon. Melly popped in and out.

I will have to call a meeting and whip them properly, Hon. Speaker.

Yes, inform the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Labour to bring a response to this request by Hon. Oundo, as well as the previous one.

Alright.

They can be brought together in two weeks.

Thank you. Much obliged, Hon. Speaker.

Responses? The Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs? Hon. Kahangara, are you ready? Is Hon. Haro in the House? Hon. Kahangara, hold on. Hon. Mulyungi, I had allowed you to request a Statement. Go ahead.

Hon. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I rise to request a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security regarding the rising cases of insecurity in Mwingi town, Mwingi Central Constituency.

On 9th June 2026, four male bodies were exhumed from shallow graves near Kasina Primary School in Mwingi Town, barely a kilometre from Mwingi Police Station in Mwingi Central Constituency. Earlier, in May 2026, two bodies, reportedly of a man and a woman, were found dumped at River Kanginga within the same area. The bodies remain unclaimed to date, pointing to the possibility that the victims may have been killed elsewhere and their bodies disposed of on the outskirts of Mwingi Town.

Additionally, on 3rd November 2024, Mr Ngumbau Kyanga of ID No. 26xxxx72, a resident of Mwingi Central Constituency, went missing under unclear circumstances. His family reported his disappearance at Mwingi Police Station under OB No. 29/4/11/2024. This incident has left his family in anguish, particularly noting that efforts to establish his whereabouts have not borne fruit. Similarly, in May 2026, the body of Ms Winfred Kanyaa from Kabati, Kitui County and also a business lady from Mwingi Town, was found dumped at Kithyoko area, and the matter was reported at Kithyoko Police Station. These incidents have caused immense anguish to the affected families and raise concern among residents over the state of security in Mwingi Town and its environs. The discovery of several bodies in shallow graves and dumping sites points to a possible pattern of criminal activity that requires urgent investigations by the relevant security agencies. It is against this background that I request a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security on the following:

Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Considering that there are various incidents, two weeks’ time would be enough to bring the reports.

Two weeks?

Yes.

Thank you. Go ahead now and respond. Is Hon. Haro in the House?

Yes.

Go ahead and respond to his request.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Hon. Abdul Haro requested to be appraised on the delays in the issuance of national identity cards (IDs) in North Eastern Kenya. The Hon. Member particularly sought to be informed on the following:

Thank you. Hon. Haro.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I thank the Committee for the response. It has been a while and a lot of water has passed under the bridge. A lot of progress has been made since I asked the question. Therefore, I am satisfied with the statement provided.

You are satisfied?

Yes.

We thank you for prompting the action. Thank you. Is Hon. Stephen Mogaka in the House?

Hon. Kahangara, are you ready with his as well?

Yes.

Go ahead.

Hon. Speaker, the Member for West Mugirango, Hon. Stephen Mogaka, requested to be appraised on a number of things:

Thank you, Hon. Kahangara. Hon. Mogaka.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I thank the Committee for giving me that elaborate response. But I have issues that I am not satisfied with. The first one is that my Question related to three bus companies. I see a response on only the Guardian Company. Why?

It is not Guardian Company. It is Guardian Angel.

Guardian Angel Company. I would want to understand why the report is confined to only the Guardian Angel Company. Secondly and more importantly, Section 20 (2) 2 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Control Act provides for forfeiture of the vessels involved in transportation of narcotic drugs. I have not heard from the Committee what happened with the three motor vehicles that were originally impounded.

For records, I wish to state that one of the individuals associated with the Guardian Angel Transport Company confronted me in a funeral in my Constituency with goons telling me to leave him alone. That is why I believe drug traffickers can kill. I want the Committee to revisit the question, explain to Kenyans what happened with the two other companies whose vehicles were impounded with suspected drugs. More importantly, why Section 20 (2) on forfeiture of proceed, of the Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances Control Act is not applying, or if it is applying, why has Parliament not been informed?

Oundo?

Hon. Speaker, I come from a county that borders Uganda. The issue of trafficking of narcotic drugs and especially bhang and related drugs, is becoming a big menace. It is slowly and surely destroying our young people. We, the people of Busia, hold the view that the police and those involved are either not doing enough or they are complicit in this illegal trade. Since they are not residents of Busia, they do not care about the damage they leave behind. I urge the Departmental Committee, whenever you have an opportunity, please implore the security agencies. We implore them to recognise that drug trafficking, especially of cannabis sativa, commonly known as bhang, is destroying our communities. I want to say it categorically here. I may not have the details of the police officers, but this trafficking from Uganda is actually aided by the police at the border, a fact I state without any fear of contradiction.

When you pass by places like Bukhwamba and Mulwanda in my Constituency, police officers who have stayed in Funyula Constituency are the ones who hire land, cultivate the bhang and transport it within the Constituency, bringing it all the way to Nairobi. I know it is a lucrative business, but a business that destroys the lives of other people's children cannot be tolerated. Therefore, please implore them to do their work, knowing they are also parents, and to have mercy on our young people.

Thank you.

Hon. David Ochieng'.

Hon. Speaker, thank you very much. I hold a very different view on this matter. As the Committee goes to do its job, would it also check whether it is time we examined why bhang is prevalent to other drugs?

Secondly, we should examine whether we can legalise it, so that people can use it legally. Since Independence, and even before, security agencies have been impounding bhang being smuggled from Uganda into Bungoma, and from Uganda into Busia every week. It is not the way to go about it, and it will not stop it. People who are inclined to consume bhang will consume it, whether it is legalised or not. Does bhang become illegal because we declared so? We must find a way of dealing with bhang in a better manner than merely criminalising it.

I must give a personal example on this matter. Five years ago, I suffered from a terrible, serious back pain. I was recommended for surgery in India but a certain doctor told me that I was too young for back surgery. For a whole year, I procured bhang every evening at

You are confessing to the commission of a crime.

Yes, and the police can do what they want to do. Every evening at 10.00 p.m., I would boil water, put a few leaves in it and drink it the way we do with the Chinese tea, and I would sleep well until the following morning. However, I did not smoke it. I did this for a whole year and got better. The only time I experience back pain is around this season of cold in June and July. And when I feel so, I would go back home and pick the fresh leaves again. You can cultivate bhang. It grows everywhere.

I do not believe that we should keep saying that bhang is illegal and bad. They have been impounding bhang since the 1950s and 1960s from Uganda, and it has not stopped. Therefore, impounding it or talking about the police will not help. We need to find a way around the bhang matter, more through education. It is a better way of dealing with it. It cannot be that bhang is a useful medicine in Mexico, America and South Africa but illegal in Kenya. If you go there, there are open shops where you enter and you are asked whether you want to take it as medicine or whether you want to take it to get high. We must deal with it that way. We cannot keep using the provincial police approach, the colonial way that dictates that bhang is bad. No, we need to get real and acknowledge that bhang has been there for a long time. Let us look at how best to deal with it. That is my contribution to the matter.

Hon. Elachi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. While we speak about all this, it is very sad that right now in our political rallies, that is the cigarette that our young people are using. We must ask ourselves as a country, as much as you will say it is illegal, you cannot tell any Nairobian when you are in a rally not to use it. They are even smoking in front of you when the police are present. We just have to think through and ask ourselves how we can regulate it to be legal. However, the legality must have its own consequences, the same way we have regulations for cigarettes so that they do not smoke everywhere. You should only smoke in designated places.

Today, in the whole of Nairobi, I cannot even try and talk to our young people. Even when I am at a funeral somewhere with them, that is the cigarette they are using. They smoke right before you and you can do nothing. As a country, we must think through this, the same way we will have to think through on how to ensure that the traditional brew, chang'aa, becomes better, can be taxed and can be a legal brew, so that we do not keep it illegal, just the same way Tanzania and Rwanda are doing. They have an Export Processing Zone for medicinal products that go to Canada. Therefore, we must also think progressively as a country.

Hon. David Ochieng’, as a lawyer, do you know the Jamaican case where a man smoked bhang, picked his child and threw him into a fire?

Yes.

Is that what you are advocating?

Hon. Speaker, this is a very interesting debate and I must admit that Hon. David Ochieng' has revealed a certain part of him that we did not know, so no wonder he behaves the way he does. But I want to say this, the route he has taken is a very defeatist one. Just because bhang is smuggled and the police keep impounding it, does not mean that we should now make it available for everybody. It is just like saying that because people are being killed every day, we should allow other people to kill them, which is a very wrong trajectory for us to take as a country.

I went to Pakistan when Parliament sponsored me to go on a mission. I was very surprised that bhang grows everywhere in that country, like a common local weed. When I went to the Kenyan Mission, it had bhang growing all over. The President asked why it was so because he had seen the weeds outside Parliament. I told him it was bhang. They call it poppy or something because it neighbours Afghanistan and grows all over.

As a country, we need to look at how we can make good use of something that has probably benefited other countries, including through establishing factories. When I used to go to the hospital, I would be given a drug called morphine. We were told that morphine has cannabis elements in it and that it was one of the good drugs, or that is what I was told. I have never used it directly, which is why I am different from Hon. David.

Hon. David is a very good and seasoned legislator. I would really love to debate a proposal on a law or a Bill that he has sponsored to make bhang legal. This House can change that law. I would like to challenge him, as he is a good legislator, a good lawyer and a good draftsman. Draft a Bill, bring it here, let us debate it, let us undertake public participation, and let us hear what Kenyans have to say. We can pass the law in this House and make it legal if that is what Kenyans want.

Hon. David Ochieng' is not Kenyan. Yes, Hon. Passaris.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me an opportunity to contribute. There is medical cannabis and there is hemp. The late Hon. Ken Okoth suffered from cancer and I had the privilege of visiting him in Paris while he was in France receiving treatment. At that time, he was using cannabidiol (CBD) oils, which are a component of cannabis, and it was relieving him of a lot of pain. He was so interested in advancing the legalisation of cannabis in Kenya. In South Africa, we went to visit a farm. It is legal in South Africa. You can grow it, and make a lot of money, but it is also controlled. So, you need to have good structures to control it. So, for me, I believe that if somebody were to

say that I never, ever took a joint, or I never smoked a joint, it might be miraculous. All right? I think as you grow up…

What do you mean by miraculous? I have never done it.

No. The thing is…

Do not judge the country by your standards.

Bhang is available to our youth at the moment.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker.

Yes, Hon. Millie.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I know that Hon. Esther Passaris is well-intentional by trying to move medicinal aspects of, what do you call it again, cannabis or njaga?

Or ganja.

Yes, ganja, or whatever it is. But Hon. Speaker, is she in order to mislead the House by indicating that it must be a miracle if you have never tasted it?

I am part of that miracle.

Hon. Speaker, I am a bad girl but you cannot believe if I say that I have never touched a cigarette, alcohol or anything in that category. Only church wine. That is the only one I have tried. So, is she in order to mislead people? Some of us are naturally high. We do not need njaga. I was born naturally high. I do not need njaga.

Hon. Passaris, finish up.

Hon. Speaker, there are places that you go, and you hear this fragrance and people say, " Hey, that is bhang. Who is smoking bhang here?” I have actually been to certain meetings where people are asking, " Who is smoking?” And try finding out who is smoking. You have always been around smokers, so it happens. But the thing is, as a country, we have to recognise that it is readily available. You can order it online and it is delivered to you, including within the CBD.

I had the privilege of being invited by Richard Branson to his Necker Island. The reason I was invited there is because he was hosting several Members of Parliament to try to advance and push medical cannabis because he said we needed it. There was a patient in Canada, where it is legal, who said, “I do not want opioid painkillers. They are addictive. I want medical cannabis.” And Canada actually legalised it. I remember trying to have this conversation with the former President when we were in Vancouver for “Women Discover” Conference. I said we need to consider it. He said, “I do not want to do it in Kenya because already there is always talk that it is being smoked even in State House. Do it in the future, but not during my tenure.”

There are two kinds of bhang: one for self-use and the other for trafficking. Unfortunately, religious institutions will say no, but it is already there. It is readily available. Our children are having cookies. Let me tell you, our children are also making cookies with bhang in their houses and selling them. They are having parties where they are getting intoxicated. So, let us not live in a box. The fact is, it has medicinal...

Order! What kind of parents are you?

No, the thing is, it is happening. Do not ask what kind of parents we are. Hon. Speaker, it is happening. It might not happen in my house, but it is happening in somebody’s house.

Time is up. Hon. Sunkuli.

Hon. Speaker, I wanted to join Hon. Baya in hoping that one day, we will have a Motion tabled by somebody here, for the purpose of bringing our country back to its senses. From the discussion by Hon. Passaris, you can see how much we have veered away from what ought to be there, to what is there. We can correct what is there by going back to what was not there.

Hon. Speaker, there could be very many benefits of psychotropic substances that are far outweighed by the losses that they bring to our society. I think that people have not gone back to their families to see the kind of damage that is happening to the brains of our kids. The mere fact that something has become available does not make it better.

This is a discussion that we ought to have had in camera because the things that are going out from this House today, are going to make our children bolder and promote them from cannabis to something even more serious. If we make it legal, one advantage is that it will be cheap. However, what kind of society are we going to have?

Hon. Members, I invite you to read a small book called “The Trouble with Nigeria”, and see what Chinua Achebe says of some of the things you are saying. Have you gone to places where bhang is abused and seen how children look like zombies?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I am a Member of the Parliamentary Caucus on Drugs and Substance Abuse, and I have had the privilege of visiting Mauritius. What you have just said is exactly what I saw live. There are some streets where treatment is being done to normalise people. What Mheshimiwa Sunkuli talked about, are the consequences of the things that we are trivialising now. I am a Christian and a very responsible parent. I am an uncle to one gentleman who has completed his master's degree, but now he is a zombie as a result of bhang.

When you talk about bhang, we should also include the other types of drugs that our children and even grown-ups are using. The problem is, what control measures can we put so that Hon. Ochieng’ takes some and leaves the others? We are a religious community. We want to grow a country where people can progressively be themselves. If we are not careful, we would be moving backward, thinking that we are moving forward. If we destroy the generation that is behind us, the future is going to be grim. I would ask those who are pronouncing it taking sweets or biscuits, to look at the consequences. I would love it if we could have as many Hon. Millie as possible. If we could, this world could be better.

Point made. Hon. Siyoi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. We should not legalise something that we have already seen the results from the youths that we have at the moment. If we can take some time and just go to Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital, our children are suffering. They are mentally ill. The question I raised yesterday

relates to a licensed surgeon who carried out a major surgical procedure in a chemist's shop because he had taken some substance. That is why he did what he did. So, as much as our children are using it, we are not going to legalise it. Because of what people are doing at the moment, there has been an increase in cases of defilement and rape. Are we going to let them free because it has become a common thing? We cannot do that. It is not even something to discuss.

Thank you. Hon. Mbeyu.

Asante Mhe. Spika. Niruhusu

Hon. Korere, this was just a Statement from Hon. Mogaka. Do we still want to carry on?

Yes.

Hon. Korere.

I have been sitting very close to the bad girl. Now am in that company of very bad girls. Just like Hon. Millie, I have never smoked a cigarette or bangi. Drugs and substance abuse is a discussion that we should speak as a nation. It should be a national discussion. Many of our children are being wrecked by these drugs and it is not just bangi alone. If we start talking of legalising bangi, we will be running away from the truth that it is bad and it will kill our generations. The discussion we should have is how to go back to what we were. In a small village like Dol Dol, bangi is finishing our children and we still want to legalise it. What are we going to legalise next? Are we running away from our responsibilities as a country and as parents?

Hon. Asinyen, chukua dakika moja.

Thank you. As Hon. Owen puts it, this is a very interesting and emotive discussion. Those of us who have witnessed people being affected by drugs cannot afford to have this discussion. Bhang is bad. It makes people act weirdly, throw stones, and shoot people. It is not a discussion we can afford to have in the National Assembly.

A place like Turkana borders several countries. Bhang comes from Ethiopia through our borders. It has destroyed our youth. Our borders are not manned by anybody. If you go to the border of Turkana and Ethiopia, no one is manning it other than the Turkana people. Bhang leaves Ethiopia through Turkana up to Nairobi, at times even in security cars.

Time up. Hon. Millie Odhiambo.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. It is very easy to theorise that it is well-intentioned to legalise it for medical reasons. My nephew

was released from hospital yesterday. He has become schizophrenic because of using drugs. It has been a long journey. It has depressed my sister. We spend no less than Ksh1 million every time he goes in because we do not even have facilities that deal with that. He has been to Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital (MNTRH). It is easy to propose legalisation when you have not gone through this. It is good for us as leaders to be realistic about what we go through, even as leaders. That is when people will know the reality of what we are dealing with as a country. I do not support.

Hon. Members, I represented a young man who raped his mother because he was high on bhang. In court, he said that he thought the mother was a new girlfriend. Is that what we want to do? I am telling you facts. Yes, omong’ina.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute on this issue. Last month, a child was raped and killed in my community.

In law, a child is defiled, not raped.

She was defiled and the person who did the act is a bhang smoker. He has brought a lot of destruction within that community. People are crying. As Members of Parliament and as a nation, we must be up in arms and cry because our communities are being destroyed. Our young men and women have been destroyed. It is not only men.

I did not know that you can spend so much time on this. Hon. Adagala.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also want to give my voice concerning bhang. Bhang must be banned. Bangi is peddled in my Vihiga County at a place called Luanda. It comes through Uganda. I am even shocked Hon. Ochieng’ is proposing this. I suspect it is even being grown near his place and causing havoc in Luanda. Therefore, as a mother, I will not allow bhang to be peddled. A young man using bhang looks like a 70-year-old man. He does not know the mother nor the grandfather. Bhang is causing a lot of femicide in our society.

Hon. (Dr) Mutunga.

Hon. Speaker, many products can be used for medicinal value and these are used as extracts. Taking bangi as a whole product is not medicinal and does not help. It is just taking excess in dosage. We would like to leave the issues to science. Let them pick what is necessary and leave bangi as it were. Let us not take excessive doses. There is no medical prescription for smoking. Smoking is hazardous to humans. Therefore, bangi should be banned by all means.

Hon. Waluke.

Thank you. I have been to the United States of America (USA) where I saw somebody had planted about 500 acres of bhang. Upon inquiry, I was informed that it is being used as medicine. Therefore, if we legalise bangi, it will be better for us as a country to make medicine for treating people especially those with cancer. Let us legalise bangi in this country instead of getting people arrested for it or having the magistrates or police hide it and sell to other people because it is a product of high value. The country can make much money from it rather than hiding.

What is your point of order, Hon. Passaris? You already spoke on this.

Hon. Speaker, there is the Harm Reduction Bill of 2025 that I brought to this House as we talk about medical cannabis and hemp. Hemp is even used for fabric. These are profitable products.

What is your point of order, Hon. Passaris?

Hon. Speaker, the point of order is that even right now in Kenya, we have harm reduction policies. We give methadone which is a synthetic drug for people who take hard drugs like cocaine, heroin and others, so that we

can get them out of it. So, there are solutions. Opioids are bad for pain. Medical cannabis helps people overcome pain. It is the most affordable way to deal with pain. Most of the cancer patients in this country cannot afford painkillers.

Order, Hon. Passaris. Hon. Members, I want to end here. You passed a law, not necessarily this Parliament, to ban the growing, transporting and smoking of cannabis sativa. It is still the law. It is called ganja, bangi and all manner of names, but it is bhang. If you want to change, bring a law to repeal that law, take it to the public and hear what they will say, through public participation. I caution you, at the moral level, to go to some of our streets. I walk around. You find a young man who is dazed. He looks at you, but he does not know whether he is seeing a human being or an object. I have seen terrible things about bhang smoking. Do not be lured by the story of Hon. Ochieng’. I do not even know whether it is fiction or truth.

Hon. Speaker, bhang as a drug is a cannabinoid. It is a substance. Its effect on the brain is known. We are not discussing something that has not been tested in science. It has effect on the brain. That is what it does, when it is used. The issues we have here today is that bhang is therapeutic. Secondly, it is used a lot and it is common. Those two cannot be a reason because even the other drugs that we know are therapeutic. That is how they are used. They are banned, but they are used as medicine. They are controlled. Otherwise, they are banned. Morphine and codeine are from opium. They are therapeutic. They treat people, but that is not a reason to say they should be legalised because you will legalise anything then. Fentanyl kills people. The famous musician, Michael Jackson, died from these painkillers. The fact that something is therapeutic is the reason it should be controlled.

Leave alone Michael Jackson. Another very good musician called Whitney Houston died the same way.

Similarly, we should not control it, but ban it. Then, it will be controlled and used as a medication. We can use it to produce medicines. You cannot say that because it is therapeutic, easily available and people use it, then we should now legalise it. That argument does not work because the effect is known. You have given an example of what it does. It changes perception in your brain on how you see things. People jump from high buildings because when they take it, the ground looks closer.

Like I told you, Dr Nyikal, the lawyers are here. Hon. Ochieng’ and other Members here are lawyers. There is a case from Jamaica. A man smoked bhang to the extent that he picked his child and put it on fire thinking it was a plank of wood.

Give Hon. Nyikal one minute.

Hon. Speaker, that is exactly what I am saying. It changes how you perceive things and how you see things. Like I have said, if you are in a 10-storey building, it will look near. That is the perception. It is near and you will jump. Like you have said, you look at a child and think it is firewood and burn it. You look at your mother and she does not look like her. That is what it does in the brain. We cannot say it should be legalised because it is used often and is therapeutic. That is my point, Hon. Speaker. The two arguments are not correct.

Hon. Members, you have heard that from a professional doctor. Hon. Tim Wanyonyi will be the last one to contribute on this matter.

Hon. Speaker, I represent an urban constituency. I have seen and witnessed what bhang does to young people. Substance abuse and all manner of drugs destroy this young generation. They should be banned and removed from our society. We have the laws sometimes, but they are not implemented. If we implement the pieces of legislation we have passed in this House, we can control some of these substances. They are adding flavours to most of them like strawberries. They look nice, but it is bhang. Somebody who smokes it looks like he has been rained on.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Mishi, I had closed debate on this matter, but I will allow you to contribute as the last one.

Asante, Mhe. Spika. Nashukuru kwa sababu unajua kule Pwani kumeharibika sana. Vijana wameingia katika magenge ya uhalifu. Wanapata motisha baada ya kuvuta bangi. Tulikuwa na mikutano na wao na watu wa idara ya polisi. Tuliwauliza wanahisi nini wakati wamevuta bangi. Walisema hata yule mdudu mdogo, nzi, ukivuta bangi, unamuona ni mkubwa kama kichwa.

Walituambia wakivuta bangi, wanakuwa na hamasa, hasira, wanajiona wanaweza pigana na kufanya kitu chochote. Hii ndio sababu watoto kuanzia miaka 10, miaka ya chini sana, wanavuta bangi wakiwa shule na unaona hata matokeo tunayoyapata ni mbaya. Mabweni yanachomwa na wanafanya vituko vikubwa sana. Kwa hivyo, madhara ya bangi ni makubwa sana kuliko yale machache yanayotumika katika mambo ya afya na udaktari. Tusidhubutu kabisa kusema kwamba tutaweza kuhalalisha bangi. Ni mbaya sana, hata kwetu sisi, kina mama, na kwa wanaume wetu wanaovuta bangi pia. Wakiwa na sisi pia kuna hatari yake. Hiyo tutaizungumzia wakati mwingine. Kwa hivyo, hii bangi haifai kabisa.

Ni gani hiyo, Mama Mishi? Ni hatari gani?

Mhe. Spika, hiyo nitakuelezea nyuma ya tent.

Thank you. Let us finish here. Hon. Mogaka, this was your Statement.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I did not know that a criminal act of a bus company and a person already arraigned in court could elicit such a debate. Be that as it may, is it in order when this Parliament has enacted a law outlawing cannabis sativa to have in our Hansard confessions of Members in this august House on how they enjoy this drug?

Finally, I plead with you to order the Committee to revisit this question and come up with a comprehensive report before anybody brings a law or an amendment to delete the section that outlaws this substance. As a Christian, I distance myself from those celebrating a drug that is a killer and disabler that has impaired people's thinking. It is a threat to future generations.

I thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Kahangara.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Hon. Mogaka has raised a number of issues. The debate was interesting. Unfortunately, the Members are lamenting, but they are the ones who make laws. They can do something about it.

On the issue of answering a question on one bus and not three, I ask for your indulgence. We will follow up because we sought this answer from the Cabinet Secretary.

Follow up and check what Members have said. You can bring a further Statement.

Yes. On the matter raised and particularly on Section 20 (2) , which the Member referred to, as indicated, the matter is still under investigation. Consequently, we may not be in a position at this stage to comment on the issue of forfeiture. The matter is also before the court.

On the issue of the confrontation by the operators of Guardian Angel, I think it is very unfortunate. It is a matter that needs to be taken up very seriously. We shall take it up with the Ministry and the Inspector-General of Police so that it can be investigated. When we table the response, we will do something about it.

With regard to the concern that we did not involve the Member, if he remains dissatisfied, we can pursue it further. We sought the information from the Ministry. However, should the Member be dissatisfied, we can go further and have a sitting to obtain additional information.

As Members from Busia and other areas spoke, it was evident that they had a lot of information on this matter. We have been encouraged to share any information, including locations where the bhang is being grown and other pertinent details, so that security agencies can take action.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you, Hon. Kahangara. Hon. Members, I hope they are still in the Public Gallery. We have students from Mithuri Comprehensive School from Laikipia North Constituency, Laikipia County. If they are still in the Gallery, I welcome them to the House of Parliament and encourage them to enjoy their visit.

Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works, Hon. Rindikiri, are you ready to respond to Hon. Kandie’s request? Are you the Acting Chairman of the Committee?

Yes, we now have the substantive Chairperson.

Is he in the House?

Yes, Hon. Tonui.

Hon. Tonui, do you have a response?

Yes, Hon. Speaker.

Go ahead. Hon. Kandie is in the House.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. On 8th April 2026, the Member for Baringo Central Constituency, Hon. Joshua Kandie, requested for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works regarding the lack of urban planning and regulation of the construction of high-rise buildings in the country.

Is the Member who sought the Statement satisfied?

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I am satisfied with the Statement. However, I would be very happy if the Committee followed up on the development of the Building Act and the budgetary allocation to the State Department for Public Works so that it can do its work properly.

We are a bit short of time. I will give Hon. Ngogoyo two minutes to contribute, then I will come to the Vice-Chairperson.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. On Wednesday last week, the Speaker directed the Committee to answer my question regarding the house that collapsed in Oloolua Ward in Ngong. Sadly, I have not received a response, which the Committee was supposed to provide today. The situation is getting worse. A house collapsed in Ngong. Several neighbours were evacuated by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and were not given alternative accommodation. James Mwangi Ng’ang’a of ID No. 464220, Joseph Ngaiso Lemayian of Title Deed No. Ngong/Ngong/34255, Marion Njambi of Title Deed No. Ngong/Ngong/46241 and Phyllis Kabura, together with their children and families, do not have a place they can call home. They cannot access their houses.

The Speaker directed the Committee to issue a response today. I have not received one. I kindly request for your intervention because the Speaker ruled that the Departmental Committee on Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works should provide a response today.

Let us have Hon. Rindikiri. I know you were the then acting Chairperson of the Committee. You must have the response.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. There are two issues of concern. First is the issue raised by Hon. Kandie. We appreciate his positive comments because the Committee has continued to emphasise adherence to the National Building Code and strict conformity to approved plans.

Regarding the matter raised by Hon. Ngogoyo, there is a prescribed seven-day timeline for communication with the relevant authorities. We are still within that timeline. This is not a simple matter. It requires detailed inspections and a comprehensive report. There was loss of life. A building collapsed. There are issues relating to the contractor and approved plans. It is a complex matter. I plead with Hon. Ngogoyo to give us until next week. We shall provide a comprehensive response then.

I sympathise with the affected families. However, we need to give the relevant agencies time to complete their work. The Committee has taken this matter very seriously. We are concerned about the continued collapse of buildings. This particular case in Ngong is of great interest to us as a Committee. Hon. Ngogoyo, I seek your indulgence.

Yes, Hon. Ngogoyo.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, while I agree to wait for the report on the collapsed building, neighbours who did not live in the affected building were evacuated from their homes. Some have lived in their homes for 50 or 60 years. They were evacuated for safety reasons. They have not been given alternative accommodation. They have not been told whether they can return to their homes or whether the neighbouring structures will be demolished.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I seek your intervention.

The Committee has already undertaken to provide an answer next week.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I have accepted his response on the issue of building approvals. However, residents cannot access their homes. At the very least, they should be told what to do. Even if the matter is not within the Committee's mandate, the Deputy County Commissioner should direct the affected residents appropriately. People cannot access their homes.

I hope that as the local Member of Parliament, you have also engaged the Deputy County Commissioner and the County Commissioner.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the NDMA evacuated the residents and deployed police officers. Residents cannot access their homes without clearance. If the Committee does not provide guidance on the matter, those people will effectively be barred from their homes indefinitely.

Even as you await the Committee's report next week, some administrative action can be pursued at the county level. If this happened in my county, I would engage the relevant agencies immediately.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I have already done that. I have been with the affected residents. However, the Public Works Department, which is based in Nairobi, issued the directive. The authorities in Kajiado cannot act without further guidance. I seek your intervention.

The Committee will provide answers next week, as it has undertaken to. Most importantly, immediate administrative action should be pursued at the county level because Parliament may not be able to provide an immediate remedy.

Next, let us have the response by Hon. Mutunga, Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock. Hon. Siyoi had raised the issue of fertiliser shortage.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to respond to the request for a statement by Hon. Lillian Siyoi, MP for Trans Nzoia County, regarding shortage of fertiliser in the county. Specifically, the Hon. Member sought to know the cause of the ongoing shortage of topdressing fertiliser at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depots in Trans Nzoia County.

The response is as follows. The Government has procured sufficient fertiliser and signed framework contracts with multiple suppliers. A total of 249,874 bags of topdressing fertiliser has been supplied and then redeemed in Trans Nzoia County. The shortage was caused by the following:

Hon. Mutunga, I thought that the chiefs and the DCCs using their teams are actually verifying the land.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, what normally happens is that the land verification issue is done by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development then I think the survey experts. Once they measure the land, they then quantify the amount of fertiliser based on the user levels. This information is kept by the Ministry at the local level and relayed to NCPB. NCPB uses this information to release messages to the owners of the land on the amount of fertilisers they can buy when the fertiliser is due and is available. The verification exercise is done once. Maybe the reverification might be necessary.

There are also multiple registrations across the counties, on borders and also across borders. There is registration of leased land by both owners and tenants. There is weak physical verification by agripreneurs, inadequate involvement of chiefs, assistant chiefs and agripreneurs and incorrect farmer records and contact details. There is also institutional farms registered under individuals and genuine farmers excluded from the registration system. Those are the anomalies that have been found out. There are examples of the findings. One farmer in Busia was allocated 716 bags while another one in Muhoroni was allocated 600 bags based on inaccurate acreage declarations. The farmers registered simultaneously in multiple counties. So, there was a bit of cheating in that area.

The second issue that was also investigated was…

They have their identity cards. I am a farmer and so I see the message. It is linked to your identity card and you will have to show the other chief on the other side of the land where you have the second piece of land and that you are actually the one farming the land.

I think the distribution of data across the different localities or different administrative units and different counties needs to be done. It needs to be passed across a verification exercise. It is not based on non-disclosure of information because somebody can bring surveyed plots on land that is fictitious. I think there is a lot of collusion. I personally followed up one particular distribution. I was informed that there is a lorry which is loading 240 bags of fertiliser. I know in my constituency, there are rarely any farmers who have more than 30 acres of land. For you to utilise 240 bags of fertiliser, especially top dressing at 80 kilogrammes per acre, you need 153 acres to use 240 bags of fertiliser. So, I followed this particularly. I also engaged the county government to give me the verification. That exercise took too long and I discovered where the bottlenecks are. It is a syndicate involving even officers in the office.

The second issue that was investigated was voucher redemption and monitoring weaknesses. There are farmers redeeming fertiliser outside their registered counties as indicated above. There are multiple redemptions using the same voucher and this is allowed I believe by the personnel within the NCPB. Immediate resale of subsidised fertiliser to traders and brokers is also happening. Brokers are purchasing vouchers from farmers. There is also

organised pooling of vouchers and fertiliser for commercial resale. Another one is farmers receiving fertiliser beyond actual requirements and financial hardships forcing some farmers to redeem fertiliser for resale.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, some examples of the findings indicate that one beneficiary at Ntimaru Sub-Depot held an allocation of approximately 39,000 bags. That is one particular individual. Fertiliser was also resold in Nakuru and Kuresoi at Ksh3,500 to Ksh4,800 per bag, after having been purchased at Ksh2,500 a bag.

The other issue that was also investigated was the governance and accountability issues, which brought about several challenges. Some of the positive attributes include strong collaboration between NCPB, the county governments and security agencies in most of the cases. There are multi-agency enforcement teams which are operational in several counties. There are ongoing investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations on cases that have already been found to be wanting or requiring the same effective control at official border points such as Busia and Malaba. The challenge is weak oversight of last mile distribution centres. There is also limited monitoring after fertiliser redemption, inadequate staffing at depots, weak supervision of farmer registration exercises and poor accountability in some county managed stores. I repeat this, there is poor accountability at some county managed stores. What I found in my constituency is that there was collusion and I could not get a lot of support from some quarters.

I will move to reported cases. There is loss of 422 bags in Busia County managed stores. There is also loss of 60 bags at Chekalini last mile centre in Kakamega. The issue that was investigated is procurement and distribution challenges where the Ministry found late delivery of fertiliser relative to planting season. There was also inadequate fertiliser quantities during peak demand periods, mismatch between fertiliser supply and farmer preferences, frequent shortages of Urea, CAN, NPSB, NPK and inadequate last mile distribution centres, as well as network failures affecting redemption systems.

The fifth issue that was investigated was cross-border diversion and smuggling of

limited extension personnel; financial constraints among farmers; weak accountability systems; and inadequate policy and legal frameworks.

The key conclusion of the investigation is that the increasing source of fertiliser diversion is weaknesses in farmer registration, verification, voucher management and monitoring systems, rather than cross-border smuggling. Another conclusion is that strengthening registration, traceability, enforcement and oversight mechanisms is critical to safeguarding the subsidy programme.

The fourth issue raised by the Hon. Member relates to long-term interventions to safeguard the subsidised fertiliser programme. The Ministry’s response is as follows: establishment of two-year framework contracts with multiple local and international fertiliser suppliers in order to supply in time; advance procurement and placement of fertiliser before each planting season; comprehensive audit and validation of the KIAMIS farmer database; strengthening farmer and land verification through the Gender Action Learning System (GALS); and agricultural officers; introduction of fertiliser traceability mechanisms; enhanced multi-agency surveillance and enforcement operations; development of a comprehensive fertiliser subsidy policy; strengthening legal provisions against diversion, adulteration, and smuggling; improvement of demand forecasting and procurement planning; expansion of last-mile distribution centres; and improvement of ICT systems.

Hon. Mutunga, you are listing the litany of challenges that the Ministry has. They seem to have a problem at every single stop. You should tell us how we can solve it, but you are speculating. You are not saying we have undertaken the following measures - one, two, three. I am surprised it is from them because it is an indictment on them.

I hear you clearly, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I will relay the same sentiments to the Cabinet Secretary so that he can respond specifically and not giving us the array of possibilities as I also find it thus.

There is no point to continue with it.

I am almost done. Let me just finish. It is just a minute.

Prioritising cleaning and validation of the farmer database; strengthening farmer and land verification systems; improving real-time monitoring and traceability of fertiliser movement; enhancing accountability at depots and last-mile centres; strengthening border surveillance and enforcement; and establishing a comprehensive legal and policy framework to eliminate leakages and ensure subsidised fertiliser reaches genuine farmers.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I will convey your sentiments to the Cabinet Secretary. Thank you very much.

What this amounts to is that the Ministry is crying more than the bereaved. That is really not an answer. Let us finish this because we have the budget item to finish. I will give Hon. Oundo one minute. I will also give the owner of the Question.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Chair has repeatedly mentioned Busia. I want it to go on record that because of the impropriety and the weak control systems, many constituencies in Busia have not received fertiliser since the long rains of last year.

Thank you, that is noted. Hon. Siyoi

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. From the response, they have done their findings well and confirmed that all the allegations I raised are actually true. As you have said, he is not giving us the way forward. To be honest, the Government is paying for subsidised fertiliser, but it is not benefiting the farmers in the country. It is benefiting brokers and as he said, it is a syndicate from top to bottom. Unless we change some other things in between, we will never find a solution. This has been a problem not only during this year, but also last year and even the year before that. We have been

complaining, but nothing has been done. We wish the Chair could give us a response that will solve this problem and help our farmers in the country.

Hon. Mutunga, I am a farmer and this is something that is close to my heart. There is no solution in that. In fact, I am beginning to think whether somebody from the Ministry wrote it or is it that somebody wanted to make the Ministry look bad. There are no action points whatsoever.

Hon. Omboko.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. It is very absurd. That department must remember that we suffered very serious hunger after which the President and Government decided to bring fertiliser. The fertiliser seriously changed food production. Now the institution that was charged with the responsibility of making sure that the fertiliser goes to farmers and is safeguarded, is only lamenting and explaining even more problems and outlining them the way you indicated. That is an inadequate answer for this House. In fact, we do not want to go back to hunger where a gorogoro goes for Ksh280. That answer should not be admissible. It must be rejected and even the Cabinet Secretary called here to deal with only one thing: safeguarding fertiliser.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Let us close this now because there is nothing even to debate because there are no answers or solutions.

Let us move to the next Order. We can now call out Order No. 8.

The Chairperson Budget and Appropriation Committee.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion:

THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 120, this House resolves to reduce the publication period of the Appropriation Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 36 of 2026) from seven days to five days. First of all, as we approach the end of the financial year, we need to quickly dispense of the Appropriation Bill so that the President can assent to it early enough before the close of the financial year so that we do not get disruption of Government services.

Second, the law requires us to process the Division of Revenue Bill before publication of Appropriation Bill. Earlier in the week, that is last week, we were processing the mediation of the Division of Revenue Bill, which we have now concluded and has been tabled. Therefore, part of that time was eaten when we were still processing the Division of Revenue Bill. Therefore, I would like to ask the House to allow us five days so that we can move forward and dispense of the Budget Estimates in preparation for the next financial year.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I ask Hon. Baya to second.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I stand to second the Procedural Motion on the Reduction of the Publication Period for a Specified Bill, namely the Appropriation Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 36 of 2026) , from seven days to five days. This is very important. The two days are fundamental because reducing the period enables the publication of the Appropriation Bill and its tabling in this House for First and Second Readings. This, in turn, opens the opportunity for us to execute the Budget.

The Appropriation Bill is critical. We can pass the Budget as a House, but if we do not pass the Appropriation Bill, the Budget remains only a statement. The Appropriation Bill operationalises the Budget as a tool of expenditure. It is the law that authorises the Government to spend money. Therefore, I wish to second Hon. Atandi and say that it is important that we do this very quickly so that we can proceed with the implementation of the 2026/2027 Budget. It also gives the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and National Treasury an opportunity to come to this House and present the Budget.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I second.

Is it the mood of the House that I put the question?

Yes.

Chairperson, Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion:

THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Article 113 (2) of the Constitution and Standing Order 150 (3) , this House adopts the Report of the Mediation

Committee on the Division of Revenue Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 2 of

deliberated on key provisions of the Bill, including the proposed allocations to the national and county levels of government, and resolved as follows:

Great. As Hon. Baya comes to second, the Chairman, Budget and Appropriations Committee, you must know that county governments are in the Constitution and we are rightfully doing what ought to be done. Therefore, the tone and the mood must be constitutional.

Proceed, Hon. Owen Baya.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker and honourable teacher, Mwalimu Omboko Milemba, for giving me this opportunity. From the onset, I second the consideration of the mediated version of the Division of Revenue Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 2 of 2026) . This is a mediated version of the Division of Revenue Bill. It has become a norm that every year we have to go through mediation. When we propose a figure and it goes to the Senate, they propose their own figure which when it is returned to this House, it is declined and we go for mediation. That is why we have this Bill here today.

I am holding the Report of the Mediation Committee on Division of Revenue Bill. In the Report, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, Members of Parliament from both the Senate and the National Assembly sat to mediate and eventually come up with an agreed figure. If you look at the Report, Hon. Onunga Samuel Atandi, CBS, was Co-Chairing the Mediation Committee with Senator Capt. Ali Ibrahim Roba, EGH, former Governor and a leader of a political party. The distinguished ladies and gentlemen sat and burnt the midnight oil to ensure that they come with a mediated version of DORA Bill so that counties get the amount of money that they requested.

If you look at table three on page six of 16 of the Report, the county equitable share now in Ksh454 billion is actually 22.2 per cent. Now, what that translate into in the Bill… If I may help to direct the Members, if you have the Order Paper and look at Notices, you will see in Schedule IV that we have now agreed on the county equitable share of 428 billion. That is

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Let us hear Hon. Millie’s point of order.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am a human rights person who believes in justice.

Yes.

Whether you like Hon. Sifuna or not, the correct words to describe him is the embattled Secretary-General but not former Secretary-General. By law, he is the embattled Secretary General. For a layman, you can call him anything you want, but for a lawyer, what goes on record is the embattled Secretary-General but not former Secretary General.

Proceed, Hon. Owen Baya.

In my mother tongue and where I come from, the words ‘embattled’ and ‘former’ mean the same thing.

Proceed, Hon. Owen Baya.

They mean the same thing. I am thinking in my mother tongue and translating it into English. Senators and those who think that talking too much makes them clever or look intelligent must be informed. When we sit in a mediation committee and come up with a report, you cannot isolate what the National Assembly says from what the Senate says. This Report was agreed to and signed by Senators and Members of the National Assembly. It is our duty. This House respects the Constitution and will continue to support counties.

We support devolution. I want to make a pronouncement on the Floor of this House that the National Assembly supports and will continue to support a constitutional system called devolution. We have nothing against it. When we make decisions about funds, we make them because that is the right thing. The National Assembly will not shy away from doing the right thing which is giving counties and the national Government their shares. We all serve the same people in counties and national Government. I wonder why the Speakers at the Senate allowed a Senator to single out and cite the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, Hon. Samuel Atandi. They should bring a substantive Motion to discuss his conduct instead of allowing one Member to vilify a Member, Hon. Samuel Atandi, who is carrying out a national duty to ensure that both national Government and counties have money. There are certain principles of fiscal balance that must be applied in our economy.

As I second, I thank the Mediation Committee for doing a good job, but I want to single out one, Hon. Edwin Watenya Sifuna. He must stop talking too much and thinking that by doing so, he looks intelligent. He is not.

I thank you and I support the Motion.

No. Let me propose the Question first.

The Leader of the Majority Party will have the first bite.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this mediated version of the Division of Revenue Bill. Allow me to begin by thanking the Members of the Mediation Committee, led by the two co-chairpersons, Chairperson Hon. Samuel Atandi and Senator Roba, the Senator for Mandera County. I thank them for their leadership during that very difficult mediation process.

I agree with the Seconder of this Motion and probably urge that we ignore some of these noisemakers, because there are people who speak faster than their brains function. I do not know whether they even engage their brains before they speak. The Senator who was speaking in such a manner was just looking for an opportunity to vilify other leaders in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) because of his own shortcomings. It is not because of his commitment to devolution, nor even because of his understanding of issues touching on the finances of our country. Fortunately, the former Governor of Mandera and an accomplished professional, together with Hon. Samuel Atandi, an accomplished banker and finance professional, understand where we are as a country.

When we considered the Estimates for the next Financial Year, and even when we initially proposed the allocation of Ksh420 billion in this Division of Revenue Bill, we said that it was based on, and anchored in, the current state of our economy and the likely scenarios of what may happen. As I said yesterday, if we look at the global economy and the prevailing circumstances, including the war in the Middle East, we must exercise what, in financial accounting, is referred to as the principle of prudence in financial management. Prudence means that as we plan, and what we are doing now is planning, because we do not yet have this money, we must financial prudence and be cognisant of the issues that pertain to the world.

If the current situation persists, we are unlikely to achieve the revenue targets that we are projecting. Nevertheless, we pray and hope for the best, including that the war will come to an end. I say this because the Members of the Mediation Committee painstakingly held very long meetings. Those who were here know that Hon. Samuel Atandi was not seen in this House yesterday. He spent the entire day in meetings, from morning until about 7.00 p.m. When I was

leaving, that is when they were finishing the meeting, and that is when he briefed me and informed me that they had agreed on a figure of Ksh428 billion in consultation with the National Treasury, as any responsible group of leaders would do.

We can now guarantee our county governments that they will receive Ksh428 billion as sharable revenue. That is not all, because they have additional allocations. Top among them is the guarantee that Ksh8.6 billion will go towards our universal healthcare workers. These are workers who are doing splendid job in our villages and dispensaries, with some, including Community Health Promoters (CHPs), visiting patients in their homes. And the only way to guarantee that this good work continues is by supporting devolution. Therefore, those who claim that Hon. Samuel Atandi is acting alone should know that, as Chairperson, he does not work alone; he is not undertaking this responsibility alone. The Cabinet Secretary, Hon. John Mbadi, does not work alone in the National Treasury. He has made decisions in consultation with everyone he works with in the National Treasury; professionals who have weighed the situation.

I have sat with Hon. Sam Atandi and Members of the Budget and Appropriations Committee for hours. Over the last weekend, there was no other work we did other than think through this process of division of revenue and trying to see where we could raise more money from. What else could we cut to get more money for our county governments? The fact that we have been able to get this additional Ksh8 billion is good for the country and our county governments. Therefore, those who are saying that people do not support devolution or who is a letdown to the spirit of devolution, the greatest betrayer of the spirit of devolution is the person who uses an institution where they sit to extort governors. If you are extorting governors, they have nowhere else to get money. They, therefore, must steal from their counties to bring you money while you extort them through those Committees.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, these are things that are in the public domain. Governors named Sen. Sifuna as among the top extortionists in the Senate. You saw him trying to punch the Governor for Samburu because the Governor had ran out of the Senate and refused to attend a committee meeting where he wanted to go and extort him. We must not allow some of these vilified characters destroy the name of the Senate as an institution. Our Senate has very serious senators and that is why I must commend the governors who named the four senators they identified as the chief extortionists. Top among them was Sen. Sifuna. Therefore, he has no moral authority to speak about Hon. John Mbadi, a great professional; Fellow of the Certified Public Accountant (FCPA), Hon. John Mbadi or a banker and expert like Hon. Sam Atandi, because they are doing their work well.

Hon. Sam Atandi and Cabinet Secretary Mbadi, do your work without fear or favour. What you have done is good for governors and devolution. You have ensured, unlike what we were discussing last week, that one of the options we had was to introduce a clause into this mediated version providing that, if there were a shortfall in revenues in the next financial year, that shortfall would be shared on a pro rata basis. That would mean that if there were a shortfall of Ksh100 billion, for instance, counties would also have to take a cut.

Now, counties have an assurance that, irrespective of what happens, they will not suffer a reduction in their shareable revenue or additional county allocations. What better deal could there be? I must also thank the leadership in the Senate because they know the people to appoint to mediation and not senators like Sen. Sifuna, because they would take their extortion into the mediation committees. I must thank my counterpart, Sen. Aaron Cheruiyot, and the Leader of Minority Party, Sen. Madzayo, because they also know what kind of senators can be sent to serious business. These others can be sent to funerals, and rallies to stand on top of vehicles waving flags. They can do that and they are allowed. But as I told them the other day, some of these things are quick fires that burn very quickly for a short time before getting diminished

with time because Kenyans can see through you and they know when you are an extortionist who speaks the loudest against corruption, yet you are the chief extortionist in the Senate.

You speak loudest about accountability and transparency, yet cannot show Nairobians anything you have done during the time you have served them as their Senator or anything you have pushed for in your life as a leader. Shame on them if they will use the Floor of the Senate to vilify a Member of this House. We will equally use the Floor of Parliament to tell the world who they are. That is why I took the liberty of telling the world who that disgraced Senator for Nairobi is. He is an extortionist par excellence. Forgive me for going that far. However, this mediated version is the best we could achieve.

In fact, the day before yesterday, we were at Ksh42.5 billion. We have had to take cuts in areas that will be painful to other people, but all in support of devolution. I know in the 10-point agenda, we committed to moving the shareable revenue to Ksh45 billion, and we shall get there. Let me say that we shall get there. We shall get there. The temporary setbacks that we have today because of the issues that are there globally will not persist for long, and that is why I said we continue to pray for peace. We pray that the situation will improve. I foresee in the near future the Ksh45.5 billion, that the Senate had desired. I know the Council of Governors, because we have also extensively engaged on this subject, will get to a point where we will even get above this Ksh45.4 billion. All we need is to grow our economy. As we grow our economy, we must be very prudent in how we apply the resources that we have available to us now and in the future. That is why I want to urge the House that we support this mediated version.

Tomorrow we are due to listen to the Revenue Raising Measures Statement from the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning, Hon. John Mbadi. I know even in the difficult situation that he sits in, he is preparing. Since we need to prepare this Chamber for that work tomorrow, let me end there so that we give a few more people an opportunity to speak to this mediated version. But I want to urge you, let us all support this mediated version. As our colleagues in the Senate have done, the well-meaning Senators understand and they have supported this mediated version. Our good governors support it because they are also aware of the situation as it is. Any further reductions would have meant we eat into our money for education or our money for Universal Health Coverage and the Primary Health Care Fund. All these monies are going to serve the people that we serve as Members of Parliament, the same people who are served by the Senators and Governors, and the people of Kenya who have sent us to represent them here.

I support.

Hon. Millie, you are on record. Do you want to speak to this? Proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I stand to support the mediated version and, in saying so, I want to thank the Committee Members. I know it was not an easy task. I also want to thank the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Budget and Appropriations. They have done an excellent job. In the circumstances, people may sometimes not understand, even when you are committed to devolution. People may not understand that even with the aspirations that Baba Raila Amolo Odinga had, and with the challenges that we are facing, very few people do not know that the country, and indeed the world at large, is facing economic challenges. It means that everywhere, people must be willing to take cuts so that we prioritise the core issues, or the important issues, in the country.

The challenge that I have, and I do not know how we will work at it, maybe it is something that the National Assembly needs to look at, is the issue of accountability of funds. Every year, we come to this House and our governors fight for allocation of more funds, but when it comes to accountability, there is always a challenge. I wish that the level of

accountability that is seen in the National Government Constituencies Development Fund allocation would be reflected even in the counties. For example, if you look at the allocation that goes to the NG-CDF and compare it with, what goes to our counties, and you compare the number of classrooms, before we go into dormitories, laboratories, buses and other things that people buy, what our governors are able to do, we must look at what the problem is. What is the problem that we cannot see the evidence of the amount of money that is allocated and what goes down?

If governors are facing structural problems, they should alert the House so that we can deal with them, otherwise, we will always blame them for their ineptitude and lack of results. The NG-CDF can facilitate the construction of one classroom per ward, while the county governments can only facilitate the construction of one classroom for every 10 wards. Why is that? Why is the process too slow? Devolution was initiated to accelerate growth, especially in areas that had, hitherto, been marginalised. It is very disappointing that we seek to enhance that allocation every year.

I want to encourage robust discussions in the Chamber. It is very nice when we challenge Sen. Sifuna. The more we do it, the more we enhance his profile. So, continue mentioning his name if you want to enhance his profile. I always mention people favourably. Some people say that I am sitting on the fence, which I do not mind because I do so with my buttocks. I do not borrow anybody’s. My politics revolve around praising my preferred candidate. Therefore, I will praise myself and my preferred candidate. I am not given to underrating people or saying that they lack intelligence. If Sen. Sifuna did that, he was wrong.

I asked the Chairman what Hon. Sifuna said because I did not hear. If he did that, he was wrong. It would still be wrong even if it was Hon. Ichung’wah who did it. We should not call people names in Parliament, especially in a technological era when our children can watch us. I used to do that in the past, but I was born again. I do not do such things anymore. We must remember that our young children are watching us, and we should stop calling people names. Some of us who are lawyers take offense when you call our fellow lawyers idiots. I may be an idiot in economics, though not too much because I got a Principal Pass in economics in my A-levels. Another Member may be an idiot when it comes to matters of law. Let us respect other Members. Let us disagree politically. Sen. Sifuna is allowed to support the “Wantam Movement” while you support the “Tutam Movement”. I will support my candidate in my own style and way. Many people claim that if I say “Wantam”, I do not support the President, but if I say “Tutam” then I support the President.

You do not get to determine how I speak or who I support. I demonstrate my support in the language, style and manner I deem fit and best. Sometimes we turn people off by our style of doing things. Let us encourage more inclusive styles. I can see evidence of growth in my constituency. I can see evidence of work that the President is doing. However, do not tell me to say “Tutam”. Say it if you want. I do not have to employ your style. I can tell the people of Suba North that President Ruto opened the Rusinga Ring Road. If you are a sycophant and you want to do that, go and do it yourself. I will not do it. I am Millie Odhiambo-Mabona aka “bad girl” a.k.a “geza geza”. You do not get to teach me how to do my politics.

Our governors should account for what we give them. They are currently not performing very well. If it is a structural issue, the Senate and the National Assembly need to know where the problem lies. Out of 47 governors, only five or so are effecting change. What is the problem? When I raised this issue, some people in Homa Bay told me that I was jealous of Hon. Wanga. Hon. Gladys Wanga is not the governor of all the other counties experiencing problems. Let us look at the issues bedevilling this country soberly. Why are some counties facing challenges? I do not want to mention them, but we are all privy to the challenges our counties are facing.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, perhaps your county is facing similar challenges. Every Member who speaks in this House tells us that their county is facing serious challenges. Why are there no drugs in hospitals? Why are there infrastructure gaps? Recently, Kiambu County had undertaken very good infrastructure projects. When I shared that on my Facebook page, somebody commented that while the infrastructure is there, there is no medicine in the hospitals. Today, I saw two impressive projects undertaken by Governor Orengo, which I shared. When I shared them, people asked why I could not also share other projects. I am not KTN, neither am I Citizen TV. I only share what comes to my social media page which I consider impressive. Therefore, if you think there is something impressive that deserves my attention, share it with me and if I am sufficiently persuaded, I will share it. Otherwise, the real issue is that we need to let Kenyans know why our counties are facing challenges; why devolution, after very many years, is still experiencing difficulties; and why NG-CDF, on the other hand, appears to be doing extremely well. As a matter of fact, and I have said it here before, my Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis examines a model of development for Africa and I think NG-CDF is that model.

When we were drafting the Constitution, I remember Hon. Amina Abdalla telling us that we needed to focus more on economic devolution. We declined and instead insisted on both economic and political devolution. Perhaps what we should have insisted on is devolution which is economic but not necessarily political. Today, we can see that the economic aspect is working. However, why is the other aspect appearing to be failing? For the sake of a leader whom I greatly value, Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, please let us ensure that devolution works for Kenya. It can work.

With those few remarks, I once again thank the Committee for the good work it has done. I support.

Very well. The interest is overwhelming but those speaking, make it short. Secondly, Hon. Millie, I thought you would rise on Standing Order 87 (4) , which provides that we should not discuss other Members without a substantive Motion. However, you have already spoken to it. That guidance is for the sake of the upcoming Members. Hon. Gitonga Murugara.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Hon. Millie Odhiambo has given us a mouthful regarding what one should or should not say. She is right to say that just like every Member is right to express their views so long as we respect each other regardless of what we talk about.

Secondly, allow me also to thank the former leader of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) , the late Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga. When he said that he was bringing experts to this House, we took a bit of time and applied some caution and asked what kind of experts he had. However, as we currently debate on this Division of Revenue Bill, we appreciate Hon. Samuel Atandi, the Member for Alego Usonga, as one of those experts brought to this House by the Right Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga because he is trying to move us and he is doing it well.

When do they defend the Government when it has issues? What is their work apart from drawing salaries and going home?

Having said so, I support the Motion. I thank Hon. Atandi very much for steering this from Ksh254 billion to Ksh228 billion. It was tough. We had people calling him and his team names. We forgive them, for they know not what they are saying; they know not what they are doing. Let us go down to the governors in our counties who receive the money. Sincerely speaking, they make us sometimes wonder as to why exactly we devolved our systems this way. Those who were present when we were doing the new Constitution would admit our President then was the late Hon. Mwai Kibaki. I am told he took time to speak to Members of Parliament to say that devolution should be done at the constituencies. He suggested that each of the 290 constituencies should be given Ksh1 billion and they would develop. Hon. Millie Odhiambo was there, I am sure. She was convinced by loyalties to disagree with him at that time, but I wish we had actually agreed.

If any of the 290 Constituencies got a Ksh1 billion, I can assure you, as she has ably called it, economic devolution, we would all be celebrating. We only get Ksh170 million compared to some counties like my county that gets about Ksh6 billion. Let us go to each of the three Constituencies in that small county. What the NG-CDF has done is praised by everybody, but what the county government has done is a question even the old lady in the village will tell you that they are sorry, they do not know the county. They also do not know what the county does. They only know they have a governor, a deputy governor, but they do not know what they do. Roads are pathetic, and dispensaries, which are the basic level of health, are pathetic. Water provision, which they are supposed to give to us, is also pathetic. What plus can we give county governments as we speak? Absolutely nothing. I say this knowing very well that some of us here have ambition to go to the counties, but woe unto you and unto me, if you are going to the county with this mentality. We will give you Ksh428 billion, but rest assured, we and other Kenyans are not happy with what you governors are doing.

With those remarks, I beg to support.

Hon. Oundo. Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) . Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Allow me also to support the Motion of the mediated version of the Division of Revenue Bill (National Assembly Bill No.2 of 2026) presented by the Hon. Co-Chairman of the Mediation

Committee on the Division of Revenue Bill 2026. I also had a chance to sit in a mediation

Order Hon. Oundo, I hope you are not referring to the Temporary Speaker.

No, I am not referring to the Temporary Speaker. I am just referring to my colleagues, for example, Sir George. Hon. Temporary Speaker, we need to be very clear and we need to be factual. I do not want to blame Hon. Atandi because he is my neighbour and he is a young man we must mentor. In the Table, there is a percentage of 20.9…

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Hon. Atandi has a point of order. Let us listen to him.

I dispute the assertions by my colleague that he is mentoring me.

Take your seat, Hon. Oundo.

I am, in fact, cleverer and more senior than him on matters finance and economics. Hon. Oundo cannot claim to be mentoring me. Let Hon. Oundo, please, withdraw that.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Hon. Millie has answered for me. When we give a figure of 20.9 per cent, that is erroneous. We are basing on Estimates of 2022/2023 yet we already closed the accounts and even the audited accounts for 2024/2025 are already available. That is a fact that we must be very clear about. If we do the mathematics, based on the current expected revenue, it is about 15 per cent at the very mere threshold. That is a fact that we must be very clear about from the word go so that we do not mislead the country and we also do not mislead Parliament and Members.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I also want to echo the sentiments of my colleagues. Indeed, we give too much money to devolved governments. From the bottom of my heart, and not the top, forget the education and data; it has been a terrible waste of public resources since devolution. Nearly 17 years down the line, Kenya ought to have changed tremendously. When you walk around this country, you feel ashamed and pained internally that the funds we spend every day are basically nothing. Many Members of Parliament face the wrath of the electorate, not because they have failed in their responsibilities but because the citizens do not understand the division of functions between the national Government and county governments.

Often, constituents call Members of Parliament to complain that there is no water in their compounds. When one explains that water services fall under the responsibility of county government, they respond that the Member of Parliament is the only leader accessible and whose work they can see with their own money. Similarly, they call regarding Class G roads. You tell them that such roads fall under the jurisdiction of county governments, yet we see nothing out of it. If you were to fall sick today and visit some local dispensaries or health centres, woe unto you. You will die out of frustration and stress. We, therefore, wish to call upon governors, it is nothing personal, but because we feel bad for our people, to utilise these resources to change the lives of Kenyans.

On the issue of own-source revenue, how can a county fail to generate revenue even to undertake basic functions or pay salaries? Whenever disbursements from the National Treasury are delayed, workers go for months without salaries, yet counties continue to collect revenue every day. In many places, revenue is collected and kept in sacks and, in some instances, even in jerry cans.

When the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) members visit such places… How can someone keep Ksh250 million in a house and then come back demanding more resources? For what purpose? So that you can even keep more? I urge us to really get moving. Let us face reality. Normally, a dead patriarch's wish must never be downplayed or abused. The late Baba Raila Odinga, through the 10-point agenda that formed the Broad-Based Government arrangement, promised the county governments Ksh450 billion. When we say we were played and that Baba was betrayed, even in his death, we do so based on the facts and the record before us.

I did not wish to interrupt the Leader of the Majority Party. For me, every time he mentions the name Edwin Sifuna, it warms my heart. It makes my work easier to say “Linda Mwananchi” and get our programme going. I encourage him to continue. He should not tire. Kenyans know the truth, and those who have lied to them. We are happy. As Baba used to say, any publicity is publicity. As we conclude, let us work together to make life comfortable and good for the people of Kenya.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Ranking Member. Father of the House, Hon. Adan Keynan, let us hear from you on this.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I hope and pray that this House will remain a House of tradition. Before I comment on this Division of Revenue Bill, allow me to use the Floor of this House to express my appreciation. I am sure you followed the events in Wajir on 1st June 2026.

Allow me to use the Floor of the House to appreciate that judicious, pragmatic, historic and humane decision by His Excellency President William Ruto. Once and for all, he realised Northern Kenya as part and parcel of the Republic of Kenya. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I know you are a football enthusiast. You must have seen the beautiful stadium in Wajir. I hope that one of your next tournaments will be held in Wajir.

On behalf of the people of Eldas, Wajir, the northern region, pastoralists and, indeed, the people of Kenya, we really appreciate what the President has done. He cried. He was emotional, just like all of us. We felt what he felt. Indeed, I am sure that the great event of 1st June 2026 will occupy a special place in the history of this country as historians document the achievements of this presidency.

Having said that, let me move to the Division of Revenue Bill. I am a Member of the Committee. From the outset, allow me to express my appreciation to our Chairman, Hon. Samuel Atandi. I have seen many Chairmen. I do not follow what Hon. Sifuna said, but I can tell you something. Having participated in and chaired many Committees, Hon. Atandi is well-suited to the critical Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Hon. Atandi, do not get scared wherever you are. Nobody will intimidate you. Continue discharging your functions as mandated by this House. I am sure Kenyans will appreciate what we have done as a Committee and your continued steering of its work. We all know that budget-making is a constitutional and political process. Party manifestos drive budgets worldwide, particularly in civilised democracies. It is not an exception to say that this budget process largely covers the aspirations, thinking and activities of the party in power. That is why I say budget-making is political.

Taking this into account, I am also aware that we live in an era of devolution. Having had the privilege of participating in the drafting of the current Constitution, I often ask myself certain questions. I am sure you also ask yourself whether we had this devolution in mind when we promulgated the Constitution. I am confused. Many other Kenyans are also confused. It is high time that we did a critical audit of the devolution we have to bring it back to what Kenyans had in mind when we promulgated the current Constitution. Was it meant to devolve the economy? Was it political devolution? Was it a confederation? Was it a federation? Kenyans out there are asking.

It is up to us, as the leadership of this House, who enjoy the mandate from Kenyans pursuant to Article 1 of the Constitution, to develop a clear roadmap that delivers the benefits of devolution to our people. That is why, on 25th July this year, I have invited all Kenyans of goodwill to visit my constituency. I will be benchmarking the work of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) and the national Government in my constituency. That will give people an opportunity to see for themselves what the NG-CDF has done.

I request two more minutes, if you would graciously allow me.

Many Members want to speak to this matter. I will give you one minute.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I am a proponent of equalisation. I want to say here, from the Floor of this House, that the equalisation is dead. Over the years, the Equalisation Fund has been used as a cover-up Fund for devolved functions. That was never our intention. It was not what we had in mind when we fought for

devolution. It was not what I had in mind when I fought for the inclusion of the Equalisation Fund in the Constitution. If I had power, I would stop it and place the Fund under an independent institution because it is not working. It is simply not working. I want anyone to challenge me. I want somebody to show me where the Equalisation Fund has worked. It does not exist even in my locality or elsewhere.

I want to conclude by saying we have a country to protect. Kenya is part of the global village. We must think outside the box in everything we do. We pray that what is happening in the Middle East comes to an end. That is one effective way to restore economic stability not only to Kenyans but also to the entire region. We support the Mediated Version of the Division of Revenue Bill. I hope and pray that we will not have this mediated version next year. But we will have one version that originates from the Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Senate Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations.

I support, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Hon. Bowen.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to support the Mediated Version of the Division of Revenue Bill. This is an annual constitutional Bill under Article 218 of our Constitution. This House sits annually to review what is sent to the counties and what remains with the national Government from our revenue. It is our constitutional obligation to discuss and approve this Bill, so that money can be allocated to our counties and the national Government.

Allow me to congratulate the team, led by the Hon. Atandi, for this Mediated Version of the Division of Revenue Bill. The Ksh428 billion allocated to the counties is far above the 15 per cent prescribed in the Constitution. I thank the Committee led by our Chair and the Hon. Roba on the other side of the Senate. For over 10 years now, we have been giving money to counties. As many of my colleagues have said, there is very little we can see in these counties compared to the little NG-CDF monies we have. This means there is no serious oversight of the counties. We call upon our Senators to focus on their constitutional duty to oversee the counties and not be seen as competing with this House in everything we do.

The Senators summon Government Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries to account for functions or duties they are not supposed to perform. This is something which we need to relook at. The Senators have stopped overseeing the governors and now oversee national Government officers such as the Principal Secretaries and Cabinet Secretaries. This gives the governors leeway to do their own thing without oversight.

We have given out a lot of money to counties. Ksh428 billion is not a small amount of money. However, if you go to the hospitals in our counties, they are in very dilapidated conditions. Sometimes there are no painkillers in some hospitals. In fact, many Kenyans support reverting the health function to the national Government.

An Article in our Constitution requires our governors to raise their own revenue. There are counties like Nairobi City County, Mombasa, and Uasin Gishu that generate more revenue than they receive from us. That is why you see a lot of the money being misused because they have more than enough. As a House, we ask our colleagues in the Senate to focus on overseeing the governors. Otherwise, I support this Mediated Version of the Division of Revenue Bill. Governors are requesting Ksh450 billion. I am sure we will reach there.

With those many remarks, I support.

Hon. Bisau Kakai.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I thank the Mediation team. It requires a lot of patience, analytical skills and focus. I think the team has done very well. What we want to see is accountability because we do not want to devolve into incompetence. If you look at what is happening lately in the counties, there is no value for money. Looking at the projects coming up in the counties, we are not seeing the impact.

Therefore, even as this money is taken to the counties, we want to see reduced wastage. What is also critical is a vibrant Senate that actually plays its rightful oversight role.

Today, counties are asking for more money than the NG-CDF, which is hardly a quarter of what the counties receive yet we are not seeing much impact. What we are saying is that we want to see value for every penny spent, and for the Senate to be proactive in ensuring that Kenyans get value for money. We want to see more medicine in hospitals and more lives being saved. In Trans Nzoia County, for instance, in the same budget, after funds have been devolved, there is even a line item for coffins. We want to see a more focused and intelligent way of managing counties.

Most importantly, there are roads. A lot of funds have been allocated for roads. Apart from the few roads undertaken by the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), most of the funds sent to counties for roads are not being utilised properly. In most cases, they bring politics into it, and it is said that a road belongs to the national Government or to Members of Parliament. We, as Members of Parliament, do not construct roads. Therefore, we want to see these funds distributed to the counties and used as intended.

Also important is a balanced budget that prioritises citizens' well-being. We want to see counties having more balanced budgets that truly help our people. In conclusion, we want to thank Hon. Atandi. This is because, for the first time, we have seen a budget drawn with a focus on affirmative action, unlike in the past, when funds went only to a few regions of the Republic. In this case, we see a situation in which every Kenyan feels part of this Republic. By and large, we want to see devolution work. For it to work, we want to see a vibrant Senate and value for money. We do not want to devolve wastage. We want to make a difference and have more productive Kenyans who enjoy their lives and the funds they raise as taxpayers.

Thank you.

The Hon. Woman Representative

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I join my colleagues in appreciating the team. I declare that I was a Member of this team in the Budget and Appropriations Committee together with my colleague, Hon. David Nyakundi. For sure, we did very good work. As a Member, I must say I still see many gaps in revenue sharing, especially given the devolution we have today. In my view, we still have a long way to go, given how devolution is behaving today. It is almost 20 years since devolution was introduced, and it seems that the more we push forward, the more we lose the gains envisaged by the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.

As Hon. Millie said, there should be accountability. We should have proper structures for county management. Many structures govern and guide county management, including the Schedules of the Constitution, which outline the responsibilities of county governments. However, one problem stands out, namely, the lack of accountability by those entrusted with county funds, who are the governors. In my view, we should not have made the position of governor an elective post. We should be able to appoint a qualified manager to manage county resources. We should be able to recall or reprimand such a person. Just because someone is a politician does not necessarily mean they can manage county resources.

Another complication is that after a governor serves 10 years, they are eligible to run for the Senate. Senators are expected to oversee counties, meaning they would oversee the problems they caused while serving as governors. Case in point is the Senator for Mandera County, although I am not alleging that he did anything wrong. If I were the current Governor of Mandera, I would be very uncomfortable being asked to account for the mismanagement of resources during the tenure of the Senator who is now overseeing my county. It would be a conflict of interest. We should reconsider that provision in the Constitution.

Counties receive close to Ksh450 billion with nothing to show for it. The NG-CDF is the only fund with successful projects. Members of Parliament will agree with me that the NG- CDF has enhanced our profile through the many completed projects we have been involved in. Governors have a long way to go. As Hon. Millie said, probably only five or so governors are working. If structural problems are the issue, we may need to return to the Constitution, since its drafters were not its consumers. Most of the people who drafted the Constitution are not governors or senators. They drafted a paper and left it to the people who are now…

Let us have Hon. Kombe.

Ahsante, Mheshimiwa Spika wa Muda, kwa kunipatia nafasi hii ya kuongeza sauti yangu katika Hoja hii iliyoratibiwa na kurekebishwa na Kamati. Hakika, ni heri moja shika uende, kuliko kenda nenda rudi. Kamati ilifanya kazi muhimu sana ya kuongeza Ksh8 bilioni kwa kaunti zetu. Kile tunacholilia ni kuona pesa hizi tulizotengea kaunti zetu zikitumika kwa njia ambayo itawafaidi wananchi wa Jamhuri ya Kenya.

Kazi zinazofanywa na fedha za maeneo bunge zinaonekana lakini tukirudi kwa upande wa kaunti, ni kaunti chache ambazo zinatumia fedha hizi kwa njia inayofaa. Nikitumia Kaunti yangu ya Kilifi na Gavana wangu Gideon Maitha Mung’aro, ni kwamba tunaziona zinafanya kazi gani. Mwanzo kabisa, ameekeza kwa elimu na kila mwaka tunapata zaidi ya wanafunzi 2,000 ambao wanadhaminiwa na Kaunti ya Kilifi. Vile vile, ameekeza kwa barabara. Ameweza kujenga barabara za vijiwe, yaani saruji au cabros na pia amewekeza kwa barabara za lami. Hili ni jambo ambalo hatukuwa tunalitarajia wala halikutendeka siku hizo za nyuma wakati kila kitu kilikuwa kinategemea Serikali kuu.

Pia, amewekeza kwa upande wa afya. Kuna mashini ambazo zinapatikana kwa Serikali kuu alafu analipa pole pole. Ameweza kuweka mashini hizo kwa hospitali zetu za Marafa, Malindi na Kilifi. Mtu anayehitaji kufanyiwa uchunguzi wa juu kama vile kufanyiwa scanning, inafanyika katika hospitali zetu za kiwango cha Daraja la Nne, yaani Level 4. Maswala ya kwamba watu waelekezwe Hospitali Kuu ya Kenyatta, pia mipango iko na tayari mashini za kuhudumia wagonjwa wa cancer zishaagiziwa na wakati wowote tutazipata. Hiyo ni mipango ambayo Gavana wetu ameiweka hapo.

Laiti kama kaunti zote zingeweza kuigiza mifano kama hii, nadhani kila Mkenya angekuwa anafurahia maswala ya ugatuzi. Inafika kiwango cha kwamba ni afadhali pesa hizi za ugatuzi zinapofika kule mashinani angalau kila eneo bunge lingetengewa hata Ksh1 bilioni. Nafikiri ugatuzi ungeonekana kuwa na uzito zaidi kwa sababu zile fedha kidogo tunazopata katika maeneo bunge, kazi zake zinaonekana. Tumejenga vituo vya polisi, shule au mabweni, maabara na madarasa. Ukitembea sehemu yoyote au eneo bunge lolote, utaona vibao vinakuelekeza kwa kazi ambayo imefanywa na NG-CDF. Hakika, kuna haja ya kuifanyia ukarabati sheria hii…

Hon. Waluke.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Bill. As we speak, you cannot compare county governments with constituencies in terms of development. I recently came back from Singapore. President William Ruto did his benchmarking properly. You cannot compare Singapore with many other countries because it is a developed country. When you ask how they got there, they say it was through discipline. First, discipline, second, discipline and third, discipline. That is what made them reach where they are. It is a very expensive country. Singaporeans do not even shop there as it is very expensive. However, in terms of development, infrastructure, electricity and education, they are far ahead. As things stand, if we embrace discipline and respect, Kenya can also reach Singapore's level. Let Kenyans put our country first above all else. Leadership comes and goes, but the country remains. We need to secure our children's future and lay a strong foundation. Where

we are headed is not bad, but let us leave things of maandamano. It is destroying our country. The Singaporeans tell us that we, Kenyans, are foolish because we destroy and burn our own country. How then do we expect development to be realised? Governors have let this country down, and sometimes we ask ourselves why. Constituencies have structures that enable the NG-CDF to deliver development. How come counties have no comparable structures? It is now almost 14 years since devolution began, yet we are still complaining about governors and counties, with little action being taken. We do not know who to blame. Sometimes it seems some people shield governors and allow them to misuse public funds. That is why development remains minimal. I concur with Hon. Millie that only about five counties can be mentioned and comparable in terms of development. Devolution came because Hon. Raila fought to ensure that resources trickled down to the people, especially the poor. But that is not the case. Why are there no proper structures for funds in the counties? Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I support.

Hon. Beatrice Elachi.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also rise to support and to thank the Committee and our Chair for this mediated report. It was one of the most difficult mediations, as both the Senate and the National Assembly sought to ensure that the two levels of government have adequate resources to discharge their constitutional functions. One of the things in the Bill we need to commend is the national Government's decision to absorb any revenue shortfall during the Financial Year 2026/2027. It is a financial year in which we will be going to elections. We have roughly eight counties that will receive more than Ksh10 billion, and Nairobi will receive Ksh21 billion. Given the very slow global economic growth projections, every Kenyan wishes to see the whole country grow.

One of the biggest challenges we face is that, 13 years down the line, counties have not come together to develop a semblance of a common understanding of how their growth should be. I want to thank the Governor of Kirinyaga, Anne Waiguru, and salute the health sector. I know Homa Bay is doing well. In Nairobi, even though Sakaja has his own challenges, he is still doing well in the health sector. We must ask ourselves how we can ensure that, even as we give all these resources, we get accountability, especially as we enter the year of elections.

I salute Baba because he thought about this country, and he knew that one day Kenya would change. It is we who have been allowed to change the country and not let it down. Counties should not tell us that they can do better only when they get more money. No! The national Government has given them their allocations. They also have allocations that are never charged to or accounted for in their local revenues. That means that if each county collects its revenue properly, it can get up to Ksh10 billion or even more. However, if we do not agree that the biggest challenges we face are our unethical ways, corruption, and the misuse of resources, then, honestly, we should not blame Kenyans for not paying taxes. We should not blame our country for not having money. It is misuse of resources and corruption that have killed our dream of having a better life.

How I wish that governors, as the Majority Whip has said, could look at the NG-CDF model and agree to run their businesses in health, agriculture, and infrastructure the way we run the NG-CDF. They will find themselves moving better and faster. More than the way they do it, they allocate money to one area they think is good when given money. That is very unfortunate.

As I finalise, I hope that now county assemblies will receive the shareable revenues that should go directly to them, so they do not have to go back to the Government to beg.

Hon. Japheth Nyakundi. I know Hon. Timothy, you were far ahead, but you stepped out, and I could not see you. Proceed, Hon. Nyakundi.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. First of all, I want to commend the mediation team led by Hon. Atandi and Senator Ali Roba. I also declare that I was part of the mediation team, and it took us a whopping three days and more than seven sittings to reach an agreed amount of Ksh428 billion.

I have been in this House since 2022, and I have seen the allocation to counties increase from Ksh385 billion to about Ksh402 billion, then to Ksh415 billion, and now to Ksh428 billion. I want to clearly state that we support devolution because we believe that it is good for our people. As we support devolution, we must also ask ourselves whether it is working and how we can improve it. We know, and have seen, that some counties are doing pretty well, while others have a lot of issues with how they spend their money and operate. Considering the allocation we have given to the Senate, I think Senators must do their job to ensure accountability in the counties.

Recently, in Nairobi County, we saw a mere chief officer with over Ksh250 million in the house. This is money that was stolen from Kenyans. How does a chief officer have Ksh250 million in his house? Sadly, there is widespread corruption in the counties. Senators should ensure that governors are accountable. In most counties, many contractors are complaining about pending bills dating back to 2015 and 2016. We request that governors pay contractors as soon as they receive this money, because they have borrowed and taken money from shylocks.

I request and urge Senators to ensure that governors have a single system for collecting their own-source revenue. Every governor has a different system of collecting revenue. I think there should be a harmonised revenue collection system, so that we can check how much revenue has been collected. Importantly, the national Government normally ensures that it pays the Community Health Promoters (CHPs) on time. Still, once county governments receive their allocations, it takes four to five months before CHPs are paid.

I support this mediated version of the Division of Revenue Bill. As this money is allocated to counties, they should ensure it is used properly.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Hon. Omanyo.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. First, I rise to support and congratulate the child-bearer of devolution, the late former Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, for coming up with such a noble idea of bringing some fairness to our nation. We should defend and support devolution the way our new expert, the Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, and his other people have supported it. I know the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury was also fully involved. If we defend devolution well and, as citizens, fight for accountability to the very end, ensuring that every dime and every shilling channelled to our counties is accounted for, we will transform Kenya almost overnight.

Everything we often say we lack, like better services, is included in this Budget. I also wish to thank the Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, Hon. Samuel Atandi, for being fair by remembering marginalised groups this time. Women, youth, persons living with disabilities, and minority communities across the country now have an opportunity to participate in governance. It is the responsibility of every citizen, regardless of any physical challenge, to ensure full participation and to enjoy the freedoms we have had since Independence. I have also noted that Ksh428 billion is not a small amount; it is a substantial allocation.

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Speaker

Hon. Member, what is your point of order? Could you take your seat, Hon. Omanyo? It is in order for him to raise his point of order.

I rise under Standing Order 95 and request that the Mover be now called upon to reply, considering the time and the fact that there is no quorum in the House.

Thank you.

Let me finish, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Proceed, Hon. Omanyo.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. When I mention women, youth, and persons living with disabilities, why are you agitated? Indeed, it is our responsibility. This is a significant amount of money being channelled to the counties. It means that every county must strive to compete with the others in delivering development. If your town was once remote and no one wanted to visit, you can change it into a city. We can create cities within our towns. This is because health facilities, healthcare services, and many other sectors that people often depend on for services can now be strengthened through county governments. We must keep governors on their toes and ensure that all this money is utilised properly to develop our areas.

I have also noted that this will help decongest our cities. Many people want to come to Nairobi, Kisumu or Mombasa after completing Class 8 or Form 4 in search of white-collar jobs and greener pastures. However, with proper accountability, counties can provide the same opportunities and services available in these cities. That way, we shall decongest our cities and reduce insecurity. This is because if we create jobs, our youth will not be going on the streets wasting their time in maandamano.

With this level of funding, resources can be shared equitably. No region will have reason to claim that it has been forgotten. Every region will be able to ask itself what excuse remains for failing to develop when resources have been allocated fairly. What Turkana will receive is the same as that of the Coastal region, the Western region, and even cities such as Nairobi. At the same time, we must not neglect areas that have already been developed. We must ensure that governors maintain existing infrastructure, undertake repairs where necessary, and equip the younger generation. We must also ensure that future generations do not waste the sweat of our heroes, such as Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga. Wherever Baba is, I know he is smiling. Even if he is gone, we will make him proud.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Hon. Members, a Member rose in his place under Standing Order 95 (1) and proceeded to propose that the Mover be called upon to reply.

Mover.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. First of all, I thank the Members who have remained in the House for a long time and have contributed to this Bill. You have indeed enriched it. There are some issues Members have raised, and I would like to address them one by one.

First, Members need to note that the formula for allocating resources is set out in Article 203 of the Constitution, which governs the sharing of national resources between the two levels of Government. Under that formula, transfers to counties should not be less than 15 per cent of the most recent audited revenues. The most recent audited revenues are for the Financial Year

2022/2023, totalling Ksh2,050,114,749,913. If you look at the allocation of Ksh428 billion to counties, it amounts to about 20.5 per cent of those revenues. Clearly, this is way above the 15 per cent which the Constitution speaks about.

Secondly, there is the issue of national interest. When I spoke about national interest, I meant that there are things that, ideally, no one would ask county governments to do. For example, if there were a security situation in Lamu or Tana River County, nobody would expect the governor of that region to be the one to deal with it. That is why we prefer, and the Constitution allows us to allocate resources to important national projects before allocating to counties. I wanted that to come out clearly because I have seen some Senators argue that allocations to counties also form part of what is considered, in law, allocations in the national interest.

Thirdly, most people have challenged this report and the allocations based on factors I mentioned earlier, including political pronouncements. As a matter of fact, the President of the Republic of Kenya wanted us to allocate Ksh450 billion. However, when we sat down to look at the figures, we were unable to do so. It was his wish that the Ksh450 billion be allocated, though we could not do so. When you sit in opposition, and this is an experience I would like to share, you always think things are working easily. You want things to work, and you assume they do. However, the position I occupy gives me a different view of the economy and revenue projections, and I see things from a different perspective. I am the last person who would wish that we do not send sufficient resources to our counties, because some of them are doing a very good job. However, it is not possible to do so because if we did, transferring Ksh450 billion would mean borrowing to fund counties. That is not what the Constitution anticipates.

Therefore, I plead with Members of the Opposition, who are always disputing whatever is being done, even where explanations are given that if they ever got to this position, they would reason differently. My friend, the Senator for Nairobi, spoke scathingly against this report. The fact that I am the Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee and a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party, who is supposed to be urging and working for increased resources to counties and yet I have not been able to do that. I am sorry that I was not able to transfer more resources to counties, because they are not there. The factors we face prevent us from doing it.

I will sit down with Hon. Sifuna and explain the situation to him. However, I also urge him, being a lawyer and an Advocate of the High Court. My friend, Hon. Babu Owino, recently left law school, and I know that he has been very active in court. He has been in court every day, defending Kenyans. However, I have never seen Sen. Sifuna in court defending anybody. The best I have seen of him is in a press conference and in the Senate, where he is shouting. I want to urge Sen. Sifuna to utilise his academic prowess to save Kenyans. He is an activist who fights for the rights of Kenyans, so let him go to court tomorrow so that he can do what the Hon. Babu Owino is doing in defending Kenyans facing problems. That is the challenge I want to give him.

Regarding economics and finance, I want to advise him that he does not understand these subjects. If he were in my shoes, he would do the same things I am doing today. He would not like to borrow resources to fund counties for political reasons, or for public relations purposes, to make somebody happy and to claim that we are undermining Baba's legacy. As a matter of fact, we are defending Baba's legacy. We are telling Kenyans that Baba trained economists and finance experts who are looking at the bigger picture of the country. Baba never wanted the country to collapse, and that is why, most of the time, he engaged in handshakes and supported governments.

If Baba wanted the country to collapse today, I would tell you that we would be asking the Government to allocate Ksh500 billion to counties, and the country would collapse. This is

not what Baba wanted. I want to conclude by saying that we are indeed defending the legacy of the Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga. With those many remarks, I beg to reply.

Hon. Members, you know our Standing Orders very well.

Hon. Members, we may be upstanding, given the important activity that we have tomorrow.

Hon. Members, the time being

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