Reading copy. Formatted from the official Hansard transcript for on-screen reading. The wording is the record’s; the layout is ours, and a speaker is linked to a profile only where that identity could be verified against the current Parliament roster — earlier sittings show names without links. Read the official PDF.

THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT

Fifth Session

Wednesday, 25th February, 2026 at 9.30 a.m.

PARLIAMENT OF KENYA

The House met at the Senate Chamber, Parliament Buildings at 9.33 a.m.

PRAYER

DETERMINATION OF QUORUM AT COMMENCEMENT OF SITTING

PAPERS LAID

REPORTS OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL ON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF VARIOUS ENTITIES

(To be laid pursuant to the Senate Resolution of Tuesday, 11th November, 2025 on the Referral of Statutory Instruments and Papers submitted during recess for the year ended 30th June, 2025) Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Webuye Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Bungoma, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Mt. Elgon Sub-County Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Bungoma, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kimilili Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Bungoma, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Karuri Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Kiambu, the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Langata Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Nairobi, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kiambu Level 5 Hospital, County Government of Kiambu, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Dagoretti Sub-County Hospital Mutuini, County Government of Nairobi City, for the year ended 30th June,

1. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Tassia Kwa Ndege Level 4 Hospital, Nairobi City County Government, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Njenga Level 4 Hospital, Nairobi City County Government, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kihara Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Kiambu, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Nyathuna Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Kiambu, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Sagana Sub-County Level Hospital, County Government of Kirinyaga, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Municipality of Nyeri, County Government of Nyeri, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Nyeri County Referral Hospital, County Government of Nyeri, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Westlands Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Nairobi City, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kandara Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Murang’a, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Othaya Sub-County Level IV Hospital, County Government of Nyeri, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Ihururu Treatment and Rehabilitation Hospital, County Government of Nyeri, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Mt. Kenya Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Nyeri, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Olkalou Water and Sanitation Company Limited, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Gatanga Water and Sanitation PLC, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Murang’a Municipality, County Government of Murang’a, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on God Kwer Sub County Hospital – County Government of Migori, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Ober Level 4 Hospital - County Government of Homa Bay, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Etago Level 4 Hospital - County Government of Kisii, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Malela Level 4 Hospital - County Government of Homa Bay for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Suba South Sub County Hospital - County Government of Homa Bay, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Ogongo Level 4 Hospital – County Government of Homa Bay for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Rangwe Level 4 Hospital - County Government of Homa Bay for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Keumbu Level 4 Hospital - County Government of Kisii for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Migosi Sub-County Hospital - County Government of Kisumu for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Taveta Municipality for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kendu Bay Sub County Hospital - County Government of Homa Bay for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kandiege Level 4 Hospital - County Government of Homa Bay for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Marindi Sub-County Hospital - County Government of Homa Bay for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Uasin Gishu County Assembly Mortgage and Car Loan Scheme Fund for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Municipality of Eldoret - County Government of Uasin Gishu, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on University of Eldoret Endowment Fund for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Macalder Sub County Hospital - County Government of Migori, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Rachuonyo County Hospital - County Government of Homa Bay, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Nyamagundo Level 4 Hospital - County Government of Kisii, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Nyandiwa Level 4 Hospital - County Government of Homa Bay, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Amukura Sub County Hospital - County Government of Busia for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Likuyani Sub County Hospital - County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Khwisero Level 4 Hospital - County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Archers Post Sub County Hospital - County Government of Samburu, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Karuri Water and Sanitation Company Limited for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kikuyu Water Company Limited for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Angurai Sub-County Hospital - County Government of Busia, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Teso North Sub County Hospital - County Government of Busia, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Port Victoria Sub- County Hospital - County Government of Busia, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements of Lodwar Water and Sanitation Company, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kacheliba Sub-County Hospital - County Government of West Pokot, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Muriranja’s Level 4 Hospital - County Government of Murang’a, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kirinyaga Water and Sanitation PLC, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kangema Sub-County Hospital - County Government of Murang’a, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kirwara Sub County Hospital - County Government of Murang’a, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Matayos Sub-County Hospital - County Government of Busia, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Naitiri Sub -County Hospital - County Government of Bungoma, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Isiolo County Referral Hospital, County Government of Isiolo, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Makunga Sub County Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Butere County Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Navakholo Sub County Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kakamega County Emergency Fund, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Busia Water and Sewerage Services Company Limited, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Shibwe Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kimilili Municipality, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Sirisia Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Bungoma, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Bungoma Municipality, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Bungoma County Referral Hospital, County Government of Bungoma, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kakamega County Microfinance Corporation, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Bungoma County Referral Hospital, County Government of Bungoma, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Mautuma Sub County Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Malava Sub County Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Matete Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Nairobi City County Assembly Car Loan and Mortgage Scheme Fund, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Thika Water and Sewerage Company Limited, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Githunguri Water and Sanitation Company Limited for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Gatundu Water and Sanitation Company Limited for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Samburu Water and Sanitation Company Limited for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on County Assembly of Laikipia Car Loan and Mortgage (Members) Scheme Fund, for the year ended 30th June,

1. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on County Assembly of Laikipia Car Loan and Mortgage (Staff) Scheme Fund, for the year ended 30th June,
2. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Baragoi Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Samburu, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Busia County Referral Hospital, County Government of Busia, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Ol Kalau Municipality, County Government of Nyandarua, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kenneth Matiba Eye and Dental Hospital, County Government of Murang’a, for the year ended 30th June,

1. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kirinyaga Sub-County Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Kirinyaga, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Equalisation Fund, County Government of Isiolo, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Khunyangu Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Busia, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Nyahururu County Referral Hospital, County Government of Laikipia, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Mukhobola Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Busia, for the year ended 330th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Cheptalal Level 3B Hospital, County Government of Bomet, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kipkelion Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Kericho, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Longisa County Level 4 Referral Hospital, County Government of Bomet, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kericho Municipality for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company Limited for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Bokoli Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Bungoma, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Lupida Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Busia, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Matunda Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kakamega County General Teaching and Referral Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Manyala Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kakamega County Rural Water and Sanitation Company Limited, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Kakamega Municipality, for the year ended 30th June, 2025. Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Matungu Sub-County Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Report of the Auditor-General on financial statements on Iguhu Level 4 Hospital, County Government of Kakamega, for the year ended 30th June, 2025.

Mr. Speaker, I beg your leave.

laid the documents of the Table)

QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS

QUESTIONS

Hon. Senators, we have four questions; two directed to the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning and two directed to Cabinet Secretary in charge of Interior and National Administration.

Now, I am informed that the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning is already in the building and, therefore, we will proceed to take the two questions that have been directed to the Cabinet Secretary. Those two questions are by the Senator for Kisumu County, Sen. Tom Ojienda whom I am informed is not present, but has nominated Sen. David Wakoli to ask those two questions on his behalf.

Clerk, you may usher in the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning.

[The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning (Hon. John Mbadi) was ushered into the Chamber]

UPDATE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF POVERTY REDUCTION AND HOUSEHOLD SUPPORT PROGRAMMES

1. Could the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on the implementation status of all ongoing economic and social programmes aimed at reducing poverty and alleviating household economic hardship?
2. What is the total number of beneficiaries reached from Financial Year 2019/2020 to date, and what measurable outcomes have been achieved under this programme?
3. Could the Cabinet Secretary indicate the regions or counties experiencing the highest levels of poverty and the specific measures being undertaken to address these disparities?
4. What steps are being taken to ensure effective targeting, transparency and equitable allocation of resources in national poverty reduction programmes? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

with orphans and vulnerable children aged zero to 17 years. This was followed by the older persons’ cash transfer in 2008/2009. It would interest this House to note that the older persons’ cash transfer programme came as a result of a Motion which the Cabinet Secretary standing in front of you, moved in 2008, so that the older persons could be given cash transfer of Kshs1,500 then, which has since risen to Kshs2,000. However, the admission age has since been revised to include all elderly persons aged 70 years and above. Initially, it was 65.

Another intervention is persons living with severe disability cash transfer that was introduced in 2010/2011. The other one is the hunger safety net programme, which is targeting poverty for all those with extreme poor households in the arid and semi-arid lands of northern Kenya that are prone to drought. That is another programme. The cash transfer initiative is part of Kenya's social and economic inclusion project under the Government's broader Inua Jamii Social Protection Programme.

All those programmes that I have mentioned provide Kshs2,000 per month, payable bimonthly to the beneficiaries while the hunger safety net programme started at Kshs2,300 per month, but is currently at Kshs2,700 per month. This is being administered by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) which is the administrative arm.

Mr. Speaker, Sir and Hon. Members, the Government also implements nutrition improvement through cash and health education, targeting vulnerable households already enrolled in one of the four above cash transfer programmes. This one, which we call the Nutritional Improvement through Cash and Health Education (NICHE), is being implemented in Kitui, West Pokot, Turkana, Marsabit, Kilifi, Garissa, Isiolo, Samburu, Tana River, Wajir and Mandera.

Let me now move on because there are a lot of details which Hon. Members, I am sure, are able to read and follow.

On economic empowerment or inclusion programmes, that is addressing the second leg of the Question. Economic empowerment interventions include the following-

We have the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement, which we call NYOTA. This, I think, has received a lot of public attention, and I do not want to dwell so much on it. It started last year, October, targeting 820,000 youth. We are targeting youth across the country in all the 1,450 wards. It is targeting those who are aged between 18 and 29 years, and if you are living with a disability, up to 35 years. The project helps in equipping young people with skills in training, apprenticeships, certification, business support and financial literacy. It is aimed at enhancing employability, entrepreneurship and access to opportunities, thereby creating sustainable pathways for youth economic participation and empowerment nationwide. It is being supported by World Bank funding.

The second one is Uwezo Fund, which has been around for a while. Remember, this began in 2013, when then President Uhuru Kenyatta made a pledge before elections that if there would be no re-run, he would dedicate money that was meant for the re-run or possible re-run of presidential elections, to this fund. That happened in 2013. Since then, over Kshs7.2 billion has been disbursed to over one million beneficiaries across all constituencies.

There is also the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), which started in 2006, during President Kibaki's era, and this has also been targeting the youth. There is Women Enterprise Fund (WEF), which started in 2007. This is providing low-interest financing, entrepreneurship training and market access support for women-owned enterprises. So far, about Kshs25 billion has been disbursed to this fund, targeting over 132,000 self-help groups, mostly women, benefiting over two million people.

Then we have the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), which is being administered through counties and being championed by women representatives across the country, the 47 of them. There is also the National Youth Service (NYS), which has been in existence from 1964 and as a disciplined service starts with training young men and women to serve the nation. A number of youths have been trained and continue to get training.

I now want to talk about food security as a way of dealing with poverty because inability of Kenyans to feed themselves is the first indicator of poverty. Food security is a foundational national priority that affects human survival, economic stability, public health and social cohesion.

The Government efforts towards food security include implementation of various interventions under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda. These interventions include Kenya National Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (KNFSP), which has seen the price of a 50-kilogramme bag of fertiliser which used to sell between Kshs6,000 to Kshs7,000 per bag now selling at between Kshs2,500 to Kshs3,500 for all categories of fertiliser; DAP, UREA, CAN, NPK and many others. During the 2025 long rains, approximately 7.4 million bags were procured and distributed.

Expansion of irrigation infrastructure and rehabilitation of the existing schemes is also another area where we have intervened. Right now, our first serious experiment with irrigation of Galana-Kulalu has borne fruit. We have harvested from 1,500 acres and the yield per acre is about 30 bags which is very high and we want to upscale this. We have put additional 108,000 acres in various community managed and smallholder irrigation projects.

Investment in agriculture value chains is another area that we are also targeting through aggregated industrial parks. This will help in aggregation, storage, processing, market access, improve farmer incomes and reduce post-harvest losses.

I have also given statistics there. Agriculture gross value added expanded by 4.4 per cent to Kshs1.7 trillion in 2024 based on the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) facts and figures.

Collectively, the intervention signaled improving domestic food availability and household resilience. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Economic Survey of 2025, growth in agriculture increased from 2.8 percent in 2019 to 4.4 per cent in 2024 despite a brief contraction in 2021, but peaking at 7.1 per cent in 2023 reflecting an overall positive trajectory. I have provided data there and statistics.

I want to talk about health interventions. The Government has progressively increased the total Government expenditure in health as a ratio of total annual expenditure. In the Financial Year 2022/2023, the ratio was 5.7 per cent. It increased to

1. 9 per cent in Financial Year 2023/2024 and further to 6.2 per cent; in Financial Year

2024/2025 and may rise in this financial year basically to make sure that Kenyans get access to Universal Health Cover (UHC).

To enhance all that, the Government replaced the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) with a new contributory insurance fund; the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023 to achieve universal health cover.

Under education, again, Mr. Speaker, Sir, apart from the broader social protection and fiscal equalisation mechanisms, the Government continues to implement a number of education focused measures aimed at directly reducing the cost burden on poor households and improving human capital outcomes. These include free primary education and free day secondary education to eliminate tuition costs in public schools thereby reducing direct household expenditure on basic education.

There are also the targeted bursary schemes which are being administered to the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF). There is also the Elimu Scholarship Programme targeting bright, but financially disadvantaged students particularly from the informal settlements and marginalised areas.

We also have the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) to provide loans and bursaries to financially needy university and Technical Industrial Vocation Education and Training (TIVET) students. It would interest this House to note that we are even upscaling money going to the HELB from Kshs41 billion this financial year to a proposed allocation of Kshs58 billion, to respond to the increasing needs of financing our education.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the budget for education is increasing from Kshs703 billion in this year's budget to Kshs767 billion in the next year's budget. As a matter of fact, when this administration came into office, the education sector was only receiving Kshs546 billion. We are upscaling that to Kshs767 billion in three years, an increase of over Kshs200 billion that is going to fund our education sector.

There is also the new student-centred funding model for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and other tertiary institutions. We are also subsidising technical and vocational education. There is also the school feeding programme for areas like arid and semi-arid areas and urban informal settlements.

I have given data of a number of households receiving cash transfers in Kenya and you can see how the number has grown. You will see under each category, for example, under orphans and vulnerable children in Financial Year 2019/2020, only 294,000 were benefiting. Today, it is up to 443,000, almost double the number. The next category of all elderly persons, used to be 763 now it is 1.2 million Kenyans and many others as you can see in the data.

Poverty headcount rates of various population groups have been tabulated because I have been asked to give measurable outcomes. Various assessments both by the Government and non-Governmental institutions and researchers have documented the effects and impact of the Government-supported cash transfer programmes.

Number one is effect in material well-being and economic security. The Government-funded middle income impact evaluation of Kenyans in Inua Jamii cash transfer has demonstrated how much this has helped in terms of reducing poverty.

On effect on poverty and reduction in inequality, the poverty and distribution impacts of fiscal policy in Kenya report based on Financial Year 2015/2016 by the KNBS, the Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), the World Bank the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the African Centre for Excellence for Inequality Research (ACEIR), University of Nairobi, showed that in the 2022/23 fiscal year, each one percent of GDP spent on direct transfers reduced poverty by 2.7 percent points and inequality by 1.97 points. That is an indication of the need to enhance the direct transfer programmes to households for increased impact in eradication of poverty.

I was asked to indicate the regions or counties experiencing the highest levels of poverty and specific measures are being undertaken to address these disparities. That is on page 15 of my presentation.

Kenya aims to eradicate poverty levels in all its forms across the country. The overall poverty level according to the 2022 Kenya continuous household survey was at

1. 8 per cent. There are 22 counties with a headcount poverty rate above the national levels; that is, Turkana, Mandera, Samburu, Garissa, Tana River, Marsabit, Wajir, West Pokot, Kitui, Isiolo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Busia and Kwale having poverty rates of above 50 per cent. I have given the table where you can see Turkana as the highest with a head count rate of 82.7 per cent, followed by Mandera. The lowest is Nairobi City at 16.5 per cent and then Kiambu at 19.9 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was trying to look for Kilifi. It is somewhere in the middle at 53 per cent and probably you can check where Homa Bay is at 28.2 per cent.

The next table gives the distribution of the poor across the counties basically giving how each county is contributing to the national poverty. You can see Bungoma is contributing very high to the national poverty at 4.4 per cent, Nakuru and Kilifi in that order. The lowest is Lamu at 0.3 per cent.

Although the poverty levels in some counties were lower, they still contribute more to the poor nationally. For instance, Nairobi City County which had a poverty rate of only 16.5 per cent contributes 3.8 per cent of the total poor nationally. This necessitates robust planning, not only to curb poverty in regions with high poverty levels, but also to consider the emerging growing urban poor that may contribute to higher weights in the overall national poverty levels. The movement of urban poor is a problem.

Apart from the Equalisation Fund, the Government continues to implement targeted measures aimed at addressing socio-economic disparities. These include-

1. equitable share allocation formula has a component of poverty in it;
2. conditional and targeted grants: We are giving some counties conditional grants to be able to address some of these disparities;
3. social protection programmes, such as the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP);
4. enhanced productivity in arid and semi-arid regions;
5. food security and nutrition is another initiative we are taking; and,
6. expansion of transport infrastructure and connectivity across various parts of the country. This administration is seeing a lot of Government intervention towards

infrastructure development in the northern Kenya, an area that had been neglected and forgotten for so many years. This Government is implementing a programme that is covering over 700 kilometres of roads.

What steps are being taken to ensure effective targeting, transparency and equitable allocation of resources in national poverty reduction programmes? If you are with me, they are on page 19. The Government is taking deliberate steps to ensure that all national poverty reduction and household support programmes are well targeted, transparent and equitably implemented across the country. The following interventions are being implemented. You will allow me to read them.

1. Strengthening of beneficiary identification and targeting through improved use of national database, including the single registry. This is done to reduce duplication, eliminate ineligible beneficiaries and ensure support reaches the most vulnerable households. In fact, in the last financial year, we saved over Kshs2 billion by cleaning the register for cash transfer. This is to ensure that the right people are targeted.
2. Enhancing transparency and accountability by expanding the use of digital payment systems and strengthening programme management information systems, which provide clear audit trails and improve traceability of public resources.
3. Reinforcing equitable allocation of resources by applying objective criteria, such as poverty levels, vulnerability and exposure to shocks, so that counties and communities most in need receive proportionate support.
4. Strengthening of verification, monitoring and audit systems, including periodic beneficiary validation, enhanced internal controls and independent oversight, to curb leakages and provide value for money.
5. The Government is improving coordination across Ministries, Departments

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Government acknowledges the importance of generating and making use of evidence in policy formulation and implementation. Participatory poverty assessment is a strategic evidence generation process that complements traditional statistical data and provides deep insights into how poverty is experienced by households across Kenya. Participatory poverty assessment are used internationally and in Kenya in the past to gather qualitative information from poor and vulnerable communities themselves. It captures their perspectives on living conditions, access to services, barriers to opportunity and the real-world impact of Government policies and programmes on their daily lives. This assessment generates evidence that is crucial for refining policies, improving targeting and enhancing programme effectiveness.

Given the value of this evidence to strengthening policy formulation and ensure programmes under the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) are responsive to the lived realities of the poor, I now formally request that Parliament considers allocating dedicated resources in the Financial Year 2026/2027 Budget to undertake the sixth participatory poverty assessment. This allocation will support nationwide fieldwork, stakeholder consultation, data analysis and dissemination of

findings. This will ensure that the Government has up-to-date community-driven insights to guide poverty reduction and household hardship alleviation strategies going forward.

Thank you. I submit.

How much does it cost to transport all of you, including the President, to those events? Lastly, why do you allow politics to be played on those podiums?

I thank you.

Remember, we were debating on something and I said, I am not sure if the 3.3 million people who are in need of urgent relief support are a reflection of the reality on the ground. The figures we have here are mostly drawn from 2022. We are in 2026 in the midst of a drought situation. I do not know which figures they are using to plan to alleviate poverty.

Sen. Mumma has asked me about support for TVET institutions. As a matter of fact, we are supporting TVET institutions. We have concluded the funding of TVET together with other tertiary institutions under the Higher Education Loan Support Programme.

In terms of capitation, I know there were challenges, but it is not that we have not provided money completely. There are challenges with the funding of TVET, and we now have the data on how to fund, how much is needed, but because of financial constraints, we are not able to provide enough funding to TVETs. However, it remains a priority.

In fact, we have even received some funding. We are receiving some funding from China to support the TVET activities, and TVET is at the core of the Government agenda. As we prepare the budget for the Financial Year 2026/2027, we are going to make sure that TVETs are supported in terms of capitation, because that is where the challenge has been.

Sen. Chute, on Marsabit County, I wish that this information was required. I will make it available if that is needed. On the projects that are ongoing in Marsabit County, I may not know the status, where they are, because the line ministries are responsible, but we will do as much as we can to provide the list of projects that are being implemented in Marsabit County.

I would not dispute that Marsabit County is not or has not been receiving proper funding from the national Government, because discrimination, marginalization and exclusion in this country, we cannot shy away from it. It has been a reality, and as leaders, we cannot run away from that responsibility. I will look into the budget of 2026 with a clear objective of ensuring some equity and fairness. We may not have an equal budget or equitable budget in year one, but we must start that progress.

If I had time, I would tell you some of the interventions that, even personally, I have intervened in the budget process to make sure that certain areas that have been ignored are actually taken care of.

This morning, before I came here, I was having a meeting with MPs from the northern Kenya region, and just to see how to give more support to that region in terms of budget, including the supplementary budget. So, I agree with you that there could be some kind of marginalisation, but that should be addressed.

On the questions by hon. Sen. Sifuna about the figures from Oxfam and my figures, I am putting public figures, and figures that have come from Government institutions that I think we have faith in.

Again, every country has its system of doing its survey. If we have put a Government institution in place that is doing household survey, and they have given us the data that in 2009, our poverty index was at 54 per cent and that went down in 2015 to

1. 1 per cent. It went down even further in 2019 to 33.6 per cent, but rose or went up during COVID to 42.9 per cent, and then went down to 39.8 per cent. I have no reason to doubt those figures, unless I am proved to be wrong, or the institution that is doing the survey is proven to be wrong.

So, I am relying on authentic figures, figures that we can challenge. If we feel we do not agree with the figures, we can challenge them. But these are statistics that have not come from the moon. They are with us, they are public documents, and can be checked.

On the issue of NYOTA Programme, and whether it is a political rally, you know Kenyans are very interesting. When you do not communicate they complain that they want public participation. When you do it, they ask why you are doing it. They will say you are politicising and ask you how much you are using. I do not know whether you expect the President to walk to Kisumu on foot, to go and conduct public sensitisation, on a very critical and important programme of Government targeting the youth---

Senator for Nandi County! The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning (Hon. Mbadi): Mr. Speaker, Sir, the confirmation that I would give this House is that the budget

that the Head of State has spent in going around to sensitise Kenyans on the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme is within the budget of State House provided by the National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya.

The Majority Leader asked me whether we have sanctioned the officers who probably were involved in giving us figures that were not accurate. I think the line ministry is dealing with that. However, the line ministry helped us to clean the system, get Kshs2 billion, which we actually reallocated to support health programmes for those Kenyans who cannot afford to pay for their health programmes. So, this money that was saved was properly put to support the health programmes.

Sen. Maanzo asked me about Galana Kulalu Irrigation Scheme. First, for us to be able to irrigate 200,000 acres of Galana Kulalu Project, we will have to do a dam along the Galana Kulalu. It will be costing us almost Kshs40 billion. I am sure you are aware that we have unlocked all the challenges that were facing Thwake Dam. Therefore, now, the African Development Bank and I signed with them, and are supposed now to complete the dam. So, it is not a challenge anymore. We know where the challenge was, and I am sure the Senator is aware of the challenges.

In terms of irrigating Galana Kulalu, we need more resources to do a dam that will help us irrigate 200,000 acres. If we irrigate 200,000 acres, imagine one acre produces 30 bags of maize. That we approved, we harvested in December. Out of the 1,500 acres, each acre produced 30 bags. Thirty bags times 200,000 acres gives you six million bags. The harvesting will be done twice in a year. So, that is 12 million bags. The most deficit that we have in Kenya, shortage is between 10 and 15 million bags. So, Galana Kulalu alone can help us fix the problem of food deficiencies in this country.

Sen. Murgor asked me how we are assessing, and the fact that we should assess at the family level as Rwanda is doing. That is why, in my last paragraph, I concluded by saying that we want to do participatory poverty assessment, which is a strategic evidence generation process. I asked that the Parliament should give us resources in the 2026/2027 Financial Year to undertake the sixth participatory poverty assessment. We have done five before. If we get resources, we are also in agreement that this participatory poverty assessment is a strategic evidence generation process that would help us address this matter. I completely agree with Sen. Murgor.

Sen. Wambua, I am not relying on figures of 2022. If you look at my reports or my submission, they touch on some figures of 2022 and some 2024. Again, for some household figures, you cannot do assessment every day. It is expensive and you cannot afford it. We must have some periodic assessment. Some like household survey was done in that year. It will be done again, but you cannot do it every year because the figures might have not even changed that much. So, we are not relying on outdated figures, as you are saying. However, yes, some figures relate to 2022. Not very far off because, again, even the Census we did in 2019, we will do it again in 2029, but we can project our population based on that.

Sen. Consolata asked about mechanisms put in place to select monitor and feedback mechanisms. Every programme that we have has an M&E component, including the NYOTA and the Uwezo Fund, which provides us with feedback mechanism. That is why I am able to report on the impact of each of these findings.

Again, I think that was the same question that Sen. Cherarkey asked on M&E and how to see the impact it has on the young people.

Sen. Seki asked about specific irrigation projects. I wish I was aware of that question; I would have come with the data. If it is desirable, I can go, check and write back to the Senate to indicate where that programme is.

Sen. John Methu again asked the same questions.

The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning (Hon. Mbadi): Oh, sorry, Sen. Joe Nyutu. I got your name wrong. You will forgive me. I know you very well. You are always a permanent visitor in my--- Not my sitting room because you are always speaking when I am in the office. You are always there on Citizen TV, so I watch you. On giving me some very good tips on how not to do things.

Again, on NYOTA programme, you asked how much is being used to transport the President to this programme. We spend as much as the Parliament has appropriated to State House to support and facilitate the Head of State. So, that is what we spend.

Thank you.

Now, Hon. Senators, we will move to Question

No.002. Sen. Wakoli, you may ask Question No.002.

Let us handle Question No.002.

billion has been sent so far. The Kshs57 million went to Elgeyo Marakwet for the flood intervention. However, Kshs9 billion went for drought mitigation.

I have already approved another Kshs4.1 billion to support drought intervention. So, that will push it to over Kshs13 billion. We are still monitoring the situation, and if it becomes dire, we will be forced again to put in more resources. So, that in a nutshell, is my response to your question.

Lastly, the Senator for Kitui asked about--- Pardon? Machakos, yes.

The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning (Hon. John Mbadi): The question was poverty reduction or mitigation.

REGULATION AND LICENSING OF DIGITAL LENDING PLATFORMS

1. Could the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on the regulation and licensing status of digital lending platforms operating in Kenya?
2. What measures are currently in place to curb predatory lending practices, including exorbitant interest rates, unethical debt recovery methods and the misuse of borrowers’ personal data?
3. How is the Ministry coordinating with other regulatory agencies to enforce consumer protection and data privacy standards within the digital credit market?
4. What steps are being taken to promote fair, transparent and responsible digital credit as part of financial inclusion, while safeguarding citizens from exploitation?

The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning (Hon. John Mbadi): Mr. Speaker, Sir, this response has been prepared by the National Treasury together with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), and I would like to respond as follows-

1. The CBK licenses three categories of financial institutions to engage in

Mr. Speaker, Sir, and hon. Members, my response to (b) is as follows. One of the purposes of licensing NDTCPs is to ensure that consumers are duly protected from malpractices such as predatory practices including high interest rates, data protection breaches and abuse of personal information. The CBK thus engages with all NDTCPs licensees to ensure that their pricing models are customer-centric and risk-based. The CBK requires these institutions to submit pricing models that are aligned to the provisions of Regulation 27(2) of the DCPs Regulations 2022. In view of this, the CBK has been engaging with all its licensees to ensure that their pricing models are customer- centric and risk-based as required by the law.

Further, all product features and prices must be reviewed and approved accordingly by the CBK. This is ongoing for the licensed NDTCPs as well as all applicants. This is aimed at ensuring that the pricing models are fair, transparent and empowering for consumers accessing the digital credit products.

The CBK works closely with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) to coordinate enforcement actions and ensure consistent application of data privacy standards across the sector. The primary responsibility of implementing and enforcing the Data Protection Act rests with the ODPC.

To prevent cyber harassment and unauthorised data access, the CBK monitors compliance through regular offsite surveillance and onsite inspections. These reviews assess the adequacy of licensees internal controls, data governance frameworks and day- to-day data handling practices, enabling prompt collective action where gaps are identified.

My response to (c) is as follows. The primary mandate to implement and enforce the Data Protection Act rests with the ODPC. Accordingly, the CBK works in close collaboration with the office as I mentioned before. This collaboration strengthens sector- wide compliance and ensures that violations are addressed through joint investigations, audits and, where necessary, penalties or license revocation is applied.

The second one is regulatory compliance requirement. The CBK mandates all the licensed NDTCPs to fully adhere to the Data Protection Act and its attendant regulations. As part of the licensing and supervisory framework, NDTCPs are required to obtain a certificate issued pursuant to the law and develop and implement a robust data protection policy.

The third one is supervisory, oversight and compliance monitoring. Compliance with data protection obligations is monitored through regular offsite surveillance and targeted online inspections. Theses reviews assess the adequacy of internal controls, as I mentioned, and data governance frameworks.

The fourth one is requirement of informed consent. Digital lenders are expressly required to obtain clear, informed and explicit consent from borrowers before accessing personal data, including phone contact lists or location information. The use of consent must meet the standards outlined in the Data Protection Act and ensure that customers understand the purpose and scope of the data.

The fifth one is enforcement of data minimisation principle in line with Regulation 33 of the Data Protection Regulations 2021. The CBK enforces the principle of data minimisation.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, and hon. Members, this is my response to (d). The first one is licensing and regulatory oversight. The CBK requires all NDTCPs to be licensed under DCPs Regulatory Framework that outlines eligibility criteria, governance, operation standards and consumer protection obligations.

The second one is supervisory engagement and capacity building. The CBK has continued to actively engage licensed NDTCPs via offsite reviews and targeted onsite inspections as I had indicated before.

The third one is technology-driven compliance monitoring. The CBK Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) system integrates with NDTCPs for streamlined data submission, covering lending activities, governance, consumer protection and redress. Further, the CBK collects periodic returns on outstanding credit from NDTCPs via bank supervision application.

The fourth one is consumer redress and dispute resolution mechanism where the CBK requires all NDTCPs to establish effective consumer complaints handling policies as a licensing condition. These policies must include clear guidance on lodging complaints, dedicated complaints communication channels and defined timelines for acknowledgement, investigation and resolution.

Fifth, we also have enforcement and sanction. This is explained here for hon. Members to see.

Sixth, the recently issued draft - Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) non-deposit taking credit provider regulations of 2025. Following challenges experienced since implementing the digital credit legal and regulatory framework in March, 2022, amendments to the CBK Act through the Business Law (Amendment) Act of 2024, have informed the drafting of new regulations.

Key proposals include-

1. expanding the scope beyond digital lending to cover all non- deposit taking credit providers, businesses not regulated under other laws, such as

buy-now-pay-later arrangements, peer-to-peer lending and pay-as-you-go arrangements; (ii) introducing a tight licensing and regulatory framework to enable a risk-based regulatory approach, easing requirements for lower risk provider and improving oversight efficiency; (iii) the credit providers continue to harass and, or mistreat customers, thus the urgent need to enhance the penalty for mistreating or harassing consumers; (iv) enhancing penalties for violations and failure to comply with the provisions of the Act, these regulations and any other regulations, guidelines, code of conduct, directives, order or condition imposed by the bank from Kshs500,000 now to Kshs2 million, to be persuasive and is still discipline among the non-deposit taking credit providers. Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rest my case.

I have platforms to express my displeasure with this failed Government but I did not, in my question to the Cabinet Secretary, say that. I just referred to the comment that Sen. Kajwang’ made. I did not say whether or not, like Sen. Kajwang’, I believed in this Government.

So, Mr. Temporary Speaker, you must ask Sen. Cherarkey to stop being the sycophant he has been and take time to listen to submissions by other Members.

Thank you.

Yes, Eddie.

Wait. I am on Standing Order No.51(c), which talks about the responses to questions by the Cabinet Secretaries. That is where I was heading. If you read Standing Order 51(7) (a), you will see that upon the issuance of a response or making of a statement under paragraph one, which is basically answering the questions, the Speaker may - the word there is “may”, not “shall” - allow the senator who asked the question to raise a maximum of two supplementary questions that relate to the question.

The person who asked the question to the Cabinet Secretary shall relate their supplementary question to the question they have asked.

Part (b) says - “Allow any other Senator to ask a supplementary question.” The supplementary question might not be related. This is the sense of this point of order. If the intention was to make sure that the question here relates to the other question, it could have been provided in this provision. Allow us to ask these Cabinet

Secretaries any question that is supplementary to the best of what is affecting my people and what is affecting Kenyans.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this is not to disagree with your ruling, but I wish that Sen. Chute could be allowed to ask his questions because it is difficult to get these Cabinet Secretaries when you go to their offices or when you call them. So, when they come here, to this House of the people, allow us to ask the questions.

The Standing Order states that it is not just for questions related to the question that was asked, but for any supplementary question. I wanted to plead with you to allow us to ask those questions.

Order, Senators. Order, Sen. Cherarkey! He does not want your assistance.

Sen. Eddie, as you have clearly read the Standing Orders, you underlined ‘the Speaker may,’ and I have chosen not to allow those questions. So, it is within my prerogative. If you are itching to ask a question, why not file the questions on time, so that you can ask it on the Floor of the House? We have another Cabinet Secretary waiting and we are spending too much time with the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning. So, we shall proceed.

Sen. Cherarkey, you asked your question. Proceed, Sen. Cheruiyot.

Thank you.

the Cabinet Secretary the microphone.

The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning (Hon. John Mbadi): Thank you. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, listening to the various questions, I will condense them to just about three. The first question which is of major concern is about the exploitative nature of some of these credit providers, especially digital credit providers. Sen. Cheruiyot has again brought in those who are giving loans to even boda boda people. This is something we live with every day and we even see them. Senator, I agree with you absolutely.

My commitment to you, Sen. Cheruiyot, is that I will have an engagement with the boda boda operators soon, just to interact with them and understand their concerns. However, to answer this, this concern became apparent to us because there was no proper legal framework to deal with these credit providers.

One of my first assignments when I came into office was to bring some of these amendments. That is why in December 2024, through the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, I was able to bring these digital credit providers into the supervisory role and purview of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

Right now, they have to have their pricing model approved and ensure that they follow the in duplum rule, which Sen. Moses Kajwang talked about. We have even enhanced penalties to Kshs2 million from Kshs500,000. Whatever they do now is covered in law and, therefore, they must comply with the law. Anyone who is not

complying with the law risks facing the penalties that have been set in law. Unlike before, right now, they are under the supervisory role and purview of the CBK.

That also addresses the question by Hon. Maanzo; that, there are people who offer credit facilities using logbooks with the sole objective of selling these assets because they know that they have structured their debts in a way that you are not able to settle them. Now, they must operate within the law because there is a law. If they do not want to follow the law, then, obviously, they will be penalised properly. Even their licenses can be revoked.

I agree with Sen. Cherarkey that sometimes these people behave like Shylocks. That is why we have now brought them under Section 44(A) with regulations prepared to address the same.

The other issue that was asked by Sen. Nyutu was whether we should go back to that period when we had fixed interest on bank lending rates. My quick response is, no. By the way, it may look very appetising and easy to think that you can control the bank interest rates, but the effect it would have on the economy would be dire. We need a free but regulated economy. That is why we have the CBK.

If we control interest rates, first, we are discouraging investment in our country and since we do not live in isolation, we are making our country uncompetitive. Even the credit rating of our country will go down when we start putting some restrictions in terms of interest rates. The negative economic effect of that is much more than the positive side. That is why we use the monetary policies of the CBK to deal with the rising interest rates.

At a point, I think in November 2024, we had 17.2 per cent as the average lending rate in our banks. Today, it has come down to 14.6 per cent. Why? It is because of the intervention by the CBK and also the National Treasury's support by stabilising the foreign exchange and de-risking our debts portfolio to remove the exposure that our economy was subjected to in 2024. All this combined with asking banks and changing the system. For example, right now, we have changed the system of the overnight lending rate.

Senator, I am sure that you are aware that this will definitely help manage the interest rates or credit lending to the private sector, as opposed to coming in with a tough regulatory regime that may not look friendly because we are in the international space.

I think I had already addressed the question by Sen. Wambua. On the question by Sen. Oketch - I do not see him here – he complained about Cabinet Secretaries not being found. Hon. Senators, if anyone was to call me right now, that person would not find me on the phone. Yesterday, from 2.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., I was engaged with two committees of the National Assembly, while on the previous day, I was with a Committee of the Senate. That is aside from the engagements that I have in the office.

I am really trying to be available to people's representatives. If Sen. Oketch were here, I would have told him that, at least, he is lucky because last Saturday, we travelled together with him to a rally in Siaya. So, he got the opportunity to talk to me, unlike Sen. Cherarkey who has not had opportunity to be with me for a very long time. I hope Sen.

Cheruiyot who has also not had time, will have time this Friday to be with me in Suba, so that we can engage and discuss other matters.

No, but I have invited you. Sen. Kajwang’ is my younger brother, so he will definitely come.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will stop there because I think I have addressed all the questions that I was asked and just give a commitment once more that, any time I am invited, I will be available.

Ndugu yangu kutoka Embu County, my great friend, Sen. Munyi, kama una swali lolote kuhusu Kaunti ya Embu, nitakupa jawabu. Ukiuliza hilo swali na utume kwa Wizara yangu, nitakuja hapa nikueleze vile ambavyo tutatatua hiyo shida.

I just wanted to prove that I can speak some Kiswahili because the way Sen. Moses Kajwang put it, it is like I do not even understand Kiswahili. I had a pass in Kiswahili to the extent that in 2007, when I was running for a parliamentary seat, there was a requirement at that time that if you did not do Kiswahili in high school and pass, you had to do what we called a proficiency test in both English and Kiswahili.

Fortunately, I had passed both languages in high school and thus, could not do a proficiency test. I am proficient in both English and Kiswahili, but I have a mastery of the Luo Language.

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

Sen. Mandago, you have just walked in. We had actually concluded. I only give the indulgence to the Majority Leader.

Cabinet Secretary, I really thank you.

He was speaking on behalf of the House. It was a matter of public BPS. No, we have the other Cabinet Secretary sitting and waiting to be asked questions. So, can we, please, allow the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning to take his leave?

Cabinet Secretary, we thank you for your time. Bw. Waziri, Sen. Chute has really pleaded that he really wants to take that matter up with you. Maybe he will write to you to seek for an appointment with the details, because I understand what he is asking requires your officers to look through it. So, Chute, the Cabinet Secretary will be expecting a letter from you with the question and the details, so that he can give you an appointment.

(The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning (Hon. John Mbadi) spoke off record)

COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR

VISITING DELEGATION FROM MWONGORI HIGH SCHOOL, NYAMIRA COUNTY

STATUS OF INVESTIGATION INTO THE FATAL SHOOTING OF VICTOR KIPNG’ENO MUTAI

1. the current status of investigations into the death of Mr. Victor Kipng’eno Mutai, who was fatally shot during a security operation by police officers from Silibwet Police Station in Bomet County;
2. whether the responsible police officers have been apprehended and if not, outline the measures in place to facilitate the arrest and prosecution of the officer; and,
3. the measures in place to prevent police officers accused of extra judiciary killing from interfering with investigations and to ensure that those responsible are brought to book. Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. The Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration (Hon. Kipchumba Murkomen): Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Once again, thank you for inviting me to this august House to respond to these two Questions. Because of time, I will go straight to respond to the Question by Hon. Joyce Korir.

Hon. Speaker, Nominated Senator, Hon. Joyce Korir, has requested to be apprised of the fatal shooting of Mr. Victor Kipng’eno Mutai by police officers on the 23rd July 2024 in Bomet County. The Hon. Member particularly sought to be informed on the current status of the investigations into the death of Mr. Victor Kipng’eno and I respond as follows –

Hon. Speaker, on the 23rd July 2024, a team of seven police officers from Silibwet Police Station who were on patrol duties received intelligence reports that certain individuals were engaged in the sale of illicit alcohol beverage at Masese Market.

At the scene, the officers found a large group of individuals taking the illicit alcohol drinks. When the officers attempted to effect the arrest, the group became hostile. In an effort to disperse the crowd and restore order, the officers discharged warning shots into the air and during the ensuing confrontation, Mr. Victor Kipng’eno Mutai sustained fatal injuries.

The incident was subsequently reported and recorded at the station vide OB No.20/23/7/2024, at 2115 hours. Investigations commenced immediately with the opening of inquiry File No.2 of 2024 by DCI, Bomet Central. Upon completion of investigations, the file was forwarded to the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) on 12th September 2024 for perusal and legal advice. On the 2nd December 2024, the ODPP returned the inquiry file to the DCI with instructions to cover the gaps identified during the review.

Similarly, the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) were informed and they commenced their own investigations into the matter. All officers who were actively on duty during the incident recorded their statements. The case remains pending under investigations.

Number two is on whether the police officer who is responsible has been apprehended. The IPOA commenced its investigations concurrently with the DCI which had opened an inquiry file and forwarded the two firearms surrendered by the officers to the National Forensic Laboratory for ballistic examination to preserve the evidence. Upon completion of the investigations, any officer found culpable will be dealt with according to the law.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the following measures have been put in place to prevent police officers accused of extrajudicial killings from interfering with investigations and to ensure that those responsible are brought to book: One, mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that the accused person have no access to the files or the witnesses. Two, Witness Protection Agency offers witness protection programme for civilians and fellow officers.

Three, courts should have authority to monitor investigations, compel production of evidence and sanction delays or obstruction. Four, prosecution makes it a separate criminal offence to obstruct justice, witness intimidation, destroying or altering evidence and colluding to cover up unlawful killings. This ensures interference itself carries consequences.

Number five, the Police Service ensures that any officer found culpable of committing any criminal offence or serious breach of discipline is promptly interdicted pending the conclusion of the case. Six, all members of service have been directed to

fully cooperate with the oversight bodies such as IPOA during any investigations into incidences involving police officers and forensic evidence and; ballistic reports are managed centrally to safeguard integrity and prevent tampering or undue influence.

there is no legal framework, neither constitutional nor legislative or policy framework for the same.

On the issue of whether the family is fully aware of the court process, there will be no information to give the family on compensation until that policy framework is put in place. As soon as that is done, then the family will be made aware that the process of compensating victims of police brutality is ongoing and then they will receive the necessary compensation. It shall be established as we progress.

The Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration (Hon. Kipchumba Murkomen): Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. On the question of policy for victims of police brutality, compensation is important. Police brutality is manifested in different forms. Some incidents happen when officers are performing their duties, for example, during rallies, public protests and picketing. The broad-based arrangement was meant to deal with victims of such situations, where people exercising their constitutional rights lost their lives. There was a cut-off period from 2017 to 2025 for the process that was stopped by the courts. We hope that process can be resolved and a consent recorded in court to allow this administration to act.

Police brutality did not start three years ago with this administration. It has been witnessed since 1963. It was even heavier in the last administration. Our friends are now considered by people on the other side of the political divide to be very clean. This is a paradox. Those who complain today about police brutality are dining with the same people who have not answered questions on brutality in the last administration. That is hypocrisy. As soon as someone joins another political wing, they are no longer held into account.

To avoid such situations, on 18th July, 2025, I issued a written policy directive to the Inspector General (IG) of the National Police Service (NPS). It covered conditions such as the use of force and firearms by police officers. It guides them on when to use firearms, which officers should be deployed and the mental health status of officers being deployed. This prevents situations where officers struggling with mental health challenges misuse firearms to kill civilians. In future, if I am asked the same question as my predecessor, I will have a basis to show Kenyans what I have done to guide the process on police brutality.

Police brutality also occurs in other situations unrelated to exercising rights. Sometimes officers are accused of harassing remandees, killing colleagues in police stations, harassing citizens or collecting bribes. We cannot deny that some errant officers bring a bad name to the service. However, with over 100,000 officers, we cannot blame all because of a few. Therefore, this Victims Protection Compensation Policy can only be better served by law. It cannot just be a policy because budgetary provision must be given by Parliament. This is something we must discuss deeply to the extent of who is a victim and a victim of police brutality; when is a police officer considered to be committing an offence in the course of duty such that he is not personally liable so that the State is able to compensate anyone.

Madam Temporary Speaker, Sir, someone had asked whether we should come up with a legislative proposal. I encourage Members of Parliament to come up with these proposals and show us how best we can move forward on this issue.

Hon. Nyutu, on the reduction of police, I have answered saying that we are working very hard. One of the ways that we will reduce the impact of police interventions in public gatherings and public meetings is by properly training our police officers. During the Jukwaa la Usalama forums we did last year, we came to understand that police training is an issue that we must work on.

Most police officers are trained only once in their lifetime during recruitment. We even discovered after the death of hon. Ong’ondo Were, the Speaker of the National Assembly who is the Chair of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) requested the IG to train police officers for your VIPs because some of you have bodyguards who have never gone for training in the last 10, 15, 20 years. For the time they have been with you, they have never fired even a bullet anywhere. I therefore thank the Chair of PSC for inviting the IG to train those officers.

Therefore, continuous training is an important issue within the police service and I appreciate the fact that all of us now believe that we should give the necessary budget allocation for continuous training. Currently, the NPS has revamped the regional training centers in many parts of the country to ensure that we have a framework for continuous training for police officers on human rights, the Constitution itself and on managing crowds.

I would like to report to the country that we are undertaking training for police officers to be ready to manage crowds differently and it is ongoing now. We are taking a number of police officers in different contingents so that we can deploy them ahead of the others when there are public functions or protests that may ensue. However, the best remedy is in this House. It is with the Members of Parliament. It is with our leaders. If we change the way we do our politics, we will not need to deploy a single police officer.

There are counties in this country where politicians are campaigning day-in, day- out. They do not go around with any police officer because of the ethics, behaviour and values they have as they campaign in their counties; their citizens and those asking for votes understand that violence is not useful or helpful to anybody. However, there are parts of this country that before elected leaders go to any function, they first have to spend money hiring either goons or gangs to accompany them to those functions.

Madam Temporary Speaker, the solution is in this Chamber and similar places where leaders are. If we can organize our politics differently, we will not need to deploy a single police officer and even when we deploy in case of a few criminals in there, they will not need to fire any single bullet because the politics will be organized, clear and clean. There is continuous spread of goonism and hooliganism across the country. It used to be confined in the cities. It used to be a Nairobi problem, Kisumu and a few other places. However, it has become a national problem. Even in rural areas, elected leaders and aspiring leaders are organizing goons across the country.

That is the existential threat to national security in this country because those who are organizing are in both sides of the political divide. They are in different levels of political campaign and they eventually ask; why did the police fire a bullet or why did the police kill somebody? However, had they not organized the goons to come to our meetings, they would not have that situation.

Madam Temporary Speaker, the other issue was a question asked by the Senator for Nandi regarding the investigations that are going on regarding the alleged police brutality in Nandi County and the situation of Father Allois who died in the County where I come from, Elgeyo Marakwet who was killed by suspected bandits.

I can speak authoritatively on the question of Father Allois because that is something I know and I have followed through the story. The biggest challenge the police

are facing is to get witnesses. Even where investigations lead to certain suspects, the problem is to get the witnesses because many people get intimidated to come forward to provide evidence.

The other challenge was that these are illegal firearms. Even when you do ballistic analysis, the challenge is how to link that firearm to a person because it is not a legally issued firearm. However, the police officers have been doing everything they could to sort this issue. I am glad to also note that despite the terrible situation that faced Father Allois and his family, as a result of that incident, police and the security sector having worked hard, we have been able to disarm all the criminals that were within that area of Marakwet East.

Now, we can confidently say that we have removed nearly all the guns. If there is any gun, that is someone who is hiding somewhere with it but we have collected over 1,300 guns in the Kerio Valley belt as a result of our targeted operations. I thank the security team and the community for cooperating. I continue sending condolences to the family of Father Allois whom I visited. We continue praying for that family even in this difficult situation they found themselves in.

Madam Temporary Speaker, on the question of the other issues within Nandi County, the hon. Senator can bring a specific question and then we can respond formally; either through a Committee or in the Chamber.

On the use of force, Sen. Wambua, I had already responded to that issue on my policy directive on use of force that I issued on 18th July, 2025.

On the question of rallies by hon. Veronica Maina, I have also responded to that issue. Yes, the police are being trained to manage public crowds in situations that may come up during rallies but it is more important for us to organize ourselves better.

Madam Temporary Speaker, that is it. There is no other question. I thank you.

INCIDENTS OF MOB JUSTICE AND RELATED FATALITIES

Madam Temporary Speaker, I beg to ask the following four questions to the CS, Interior and National Administration: -

1. Could the Cabinet Secretary provide details on the registered incidents of mob justice and related fatalities from January 2025 to date?
2. What measures have been put in place to enhance police responsiveness to mob justice incidents, strengthen investigative capabilities and facilitate the prosecution of perpetrators?
3. What measures are being implemented by the Government to address public mistrust of law enforcement agencies and the judicial system, which are the key drivers of mob justice?
4. What other factors have contributed to the overall increase in mob justice incidents across the country, and could the Cabinet Secretary explain the actions being taken to address them? Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. This is a statement on behalf of Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda.

I did not see.

Thank you, Senator. Hon. Cabinet Secretary, you may proceed, please. The Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration (Hon. Kipchumba Murkomen): Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I do not know if I am allowed to say this, but I used to sit exactly where you sat as a Temporary Speaker and I appreciate the work you are doing.

Number two is measures that have been put in place to enhance police responsiveness to mob injustice incidents, strengthen investigative capabilities, and facilitate the prosecution of perpetrators. The following measures have been taken to enhance police responsiveness to mob injustice incidents-

1. encourage local communities to collaborate with police in reporting suspicious activities and preventing mob violence; (ii) deployment of police officers to respond quickly to incidents of mob injustice, especially in urban centers; (iii) use of toll-free hotlines and digital platforms to report mob violence, enabling faster police deployment; and, (iv) enhance the training of police officers on crowd control. The following measures have been put to strengthen the investigative capabilities of police officers –
2. An Independent Policing Oversight
3. Strengthen coordination with police to ensure mob justice is prosecuted with

Authority (IPOA) was established to

put in place several measures aimed at preventing mob justice and ensuring the lawful handling of suspects-

1. National Government
2. Conducting prompt and thorough investigations to ensure that suspects are
3. Mistrust in the criminal justice system, as some members of public perceive
4. Circulation of crime-related content and instant justice videos on social media officers are continuously sensitizing citizens on the

1. Abuse of hard drugs, impairing judgment, and increases impulsive and violent behavior, contributing to mob-related incidents.
2. High levels of poverty and unemployment, particularly among the youth, coupled with limited economic opportunities, contribute to increased petty crimes and youth involvement in criminal activities, which often provoke mob retaliation and subsequent mob justice incidents.
3. Groups engaged in organized illegal activities such as theft, robbery, and drug trafficking, whose actions can provoke mob retaliation and escalate violence in communities. To mitigate these factors-
4. The Government
5. Conducting targeted public education campaigns and sensitization forums to
6. Conducting a crackdown on drug use and illicit substance circulation to reduce
7. Engaging youth through community programs, mentorship, and advisory
8. Conducting a crackdown on criminal gangs through targeted operations, is strengthening the community policing and enhancing

1. shall appear, in person, on the day on which the respective Question is listed for response;
2. shall respond to the Question; and
3. may, with the permission of the Speaker, make a statement on any other matter pertaining to the Department.’ So, Madam Temporary Speaker, you can allow the Senator to ask questions, because it says “may”.

I said in the Statement that I made on the Floor of this House on gangs across the whole country, recently, there has been a rising menace and Samburu is not an exception because in Maralal Town---

Umeshauliza swali lako.

Proceed, Sen. Beatrice Ogola.

Next is Sen. Mandago.

1. So, that effort that the police have done so far has improved the status of Kitengela. However, politicians and particularly those who want to incite the public against the Government have been hiring young boys and goons and criminals in the name of protests. I do not want the Senator to provoke me to say more than that, because of mutual respect. However, it is important for the political actors on both sides of the

divide, but specifically those who held rallies recently and organized maandamano last year, to stop utilizing young people and arming them to cause violence with rungus and machetes, provoking police officers.

In fact, in our national police security strategy, we have a particular plan about Kitengela. The President recently told us to think about the Nairobi metropolitan security sector. Kitengela, together with some parts of Nairobi, Machakos and Kiambu, are actually hot spots that we need to really look at criminal gangs. I am not saying goons but criminal gangs that operate from Kitengela itself.

This is a threat to national security. I do not wish the Senator to think that the people of Kitengela are his people. They are the people of Kenya. They are our people. That is our country. There is no particular section of this nation that should be left to criminals in any manner. I wish the Senator would use the same spirit in helping us to dismantle these gangs.

There is the Standing Order that Sen. Chute read. It is your discretion to give the Cabinet Secretary to respond to something that you may give directions as the Speaker. It is not to divert from the subject matter that we are dealing with and move to other subjects that the Cabinet Secretary is not prepared to come and respond.

On Sen. Maanzo’s question, mob justice is definitely a mistaken identity, or it is the wrong way of doing things. You cannot say this is the criminal until there is evidence. So, one is actually innocent until proven guilty. It is true that there are cases where mob justice target people who are absolutely not related with the suspected crime at all, or even somebody who was only present there as a passerby. In some instances that have been reported, innocent people have been attacked by the mob.

Both Sen. Kisang’ and Sen. Veronica, have raised similar issues on boda boda riders and the issues of mob injustice. I think we may have to discuss measures we are putting in place, but already, we are working with the Ministry of Roads and Transport to see if they can make mandatory identification for boda boda riders, including their area of operation and code of conduct. We expected that there was going to be better self- regulation. However, now crimes are being perpetrated by criminals riding motorcycles and hiding behind boda boda business. It is really causing havoc in this city and other parts of the country, because the boda boda can easily access panya routes and other areas that make it very difficult for law enforcers to identify them quickly because of their sheer numbers and the people they carry.

We have a plan to deal with also the ones who have been causing havoc in the city, muggings and robberies, where three criminals are riding in one motorcycle, others are robbing people, and the one who is riding is aiding, abetting and enabling that crime. So, the boda boda sector remains a challenge. Some work is being done by our county security teams, but we need to upscale that work with the Ministry of Roads and Transport. Those are issues that were raised in our Jukwaa la Usalama, and we are looking for ways to make sure that this is sorted. However, this is not happening without political support.

There are politicians that own and support these groups, use them for their political events. They come gladly knowing that once they are in these political events, apart from what they are being paid to come and do, because many politicians pay them,

they will also rob people around the city and other parts of the country. I agree with the Senate Majority Leader that we must be seen to be enforcing the law, regardless of who you are or who the person is, by arresting these people.

We will need a more lethal force to deal with these gangs. Unfortunately, there is no consensus in the environment that we are operating in, as to whether we should deal with these gangs using lethal force. Since some of them are armed, if they engage police officers, some people will die. As soon as somebody dies, I will be brought here, and it will be said, “Oh, the Government is killing our people and youth.” Even when we do something to someone who burnt a police station, wanted to steal ammunitions, attacking police officers, burnt their court, somebody's business, we are told that the Government is killing the youth, and that becomes their political slogan for our competitors. So, it is important that there is national consensus. Let us stop paying lip service to this conversation. There must be a national consensus to support the Inspector General (IG) and the National Police Service.

If Cabinet Secretary Michuki had not carried a very painful exercise to get rid of Mungiki, we would not be where we are. In the same way, recently in my county and the neighbouring counties, we had to support the police to carry out serious operations against the bandits.

We could not have collected 1,300 gangs without proper political support, from both my office and that of the local community. So, there must be a consensus in the city that we need to clean the city.

Despite their political differences, political leaders must agree. You cannot allow these muggings that are happening here; robberies, people occupying people's property, threatening people and hurting men, women and children. I hope we will close ranks when the Inspector General (IG) announces further measures in this area.

On the question of internal affairs units, I agree with Sen. Nyutu that maybe the internal affairs unit needs to publicise its operations or cases so that Kenyans can understand that there is a mechanism. However, there is a constitutional mechanism, of course, in the national Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), which has a constitutional duty to investigate all police officers.

The internal measures that are put in place for the police are to make sure that you quickly take administrative action and disciplinary action on the part of the police officer as you wait for the criminal investigations by IPOA. In some cases, the DCI will just arrest a police officer and charge them in court. You do not have to wait for IPOA. So, those mechanisms are there.

side they support. It is an area that we must also work together to get rid of. As we continue enforcing the law, I believe that the people of Kenya will support us even when the political leaders do not.

I agree with Sen. Lemaletian on the question of Samburu-Maralal. You know very well that we have done a lot in Maralal. We changed security recently and tried to bolster the security team. The IG is working on deploying more police officers who are more agile and newly trained, as soon as we complete the current training in September- October.

I hope that this will help us. As you know, in Samburu, we have various challenges. We are still dealing with bandits and we are told in town that these people are causing havoc. There are gangs and goons and mob justice in the town.

I know you have asked me to pick up my calls. I am sure when I leave this Chamber now--- A Member of Parliament or a Senator is complaining that I have not picked up their calls. The nature of the job I do is very busy. Between now and 1.00 a.m., I will still be working and I am still expected to wake up the next day to do some work. So, even when I do not manage to respond to your calls, there are established procedures in the office.

I have come to establish that many people who come to my office will not leave their issues with the officers in the office. They just insist that they want to see the Cabinet Secretary. If they can utilise the resources in the office, then they can be responded to, like Sen. Chute said.

Lastly, on Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), we will support. The National Police Service (NPS) is ready to support IEBC to make sure that political activities are done within the law. If I pronounce myself here that we are doing it on behalf of IEBC or that we are banning public rallies, the IEBC should take the legal steps. It is for us then to support them, whether it is policy from my office or the IG. Once they pronounce a certain gathering to be illegal, then it is for us to enforce the law.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I look forward to coming here again. [The Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, Hon. Kipchumba Murkomen) was ushered out of the Chamber]

ADJOURNMENT