Speaker Kingi calls off mediation with Governors over failure to honour Senate summons

Senate Speaker Amason Kingi has called off a planned mediation meeting with Governors, citing their failure to attend sittings of the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC), which he says was a key condition for the talks.

In a formal response to the Council of Governors (CoG) on Thursday, Kingi stated that the Senate could not proceed with the requested engagement as Governors had consistently failed to honour invitations to appear before CPAC, hence undermining accountability processes. 

The Speaker emphasized that attendance before CPAC is a constitutional and statutory obligation, noting that the committee plays a critical oversight role in ensuring prudent use of public resources at the county level.

He maintained that any meaningful engagement between the Senate and Governors must be anchored on respect for these accountability mechanisms.

Kingi further pointed out that the Senate had previously demonstrated goodwill by accommodating Governors and providing platforms for dialogue, but expressed concern that this had not been reciprocated.

He noted that failure by Governors to appear before CPAC weakens oversight and erodes public trust in devolved units.

"As you will recall and as I indicated in the letter, the invitation extended to the Council of Governors was premised on the condition that in accordance with the Constitutional provisions on legislative oversight, any governor invited or summoned to appear before any Committee of the Senate must do so, failing which the consequences provided for in the Constitution and the law shall follow," he wrote.

The cancelled mediation meeting had been sought by the CoG amid rising tensions between Governors and the Senate, particularly over scrutiny by oversight committees. 

The Governors had previously raised concerns about what they termed as extortion during appearances before Senate committees.

The Council singled out four Senators: CPAC Chairperson Moses Kajwang, Vice-Chairperson Johnes Mwaruma, Edwin Sifuna and Samson Cherargei, alleging that they have been “notorious” for misconduct during oversight sessions. 

In response to the allegations, Speaker Kingi rejected the request by Governors to remove the Senators from key committees, citing that the power to establish committees, appoint members and remove them rests exclusively with the Senate. 

"The constitutional oversight mandate is exercised by the Senate as often as whenever the Senate, in its judgment, considers appropriate and any purported restriction or limitation of this mandate, such as proposed, is unconstitutional," Kingi stated on February 12, 2026.