Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana has accused some county governors of spreading false claims of impeachment and political sabotage whenever senators raise issues of accountability in county fund usage.

Speaking durng 2025 Devolution conference held in Homa Bay county on Thursday, August 14, 2025, During the session, Mungatana lamented the tensions between senators and governors over financial oversight, saying, “When we talk about accountability of utilization of funds, governors start spreading rumours that we want to overthrow them, we are planning an impeachment motion, we are against them, and saying also a senator wants to come to my seat. This is the problem we are facing,” Mungatana said.

The lawmaker emphasised that senators are constitutionally mandated to exercise oversight over county governments, not to interfere with how the budgets are spent. He noted that governors often perceive routine checks on their management of public resources as attacks.

“Governors do not want to be told ‘here you are wrong, misusing funds,’ etc. As a senator, it is not my constitutional mandate to plan for how the budget will be utilised. Every time you are doing oversight, the governors are up in arms,” Mungatana said.

He urged county leaders to see senators as partners, not adversaries, in the shared mission of promoting transparency and accountability. Mungatana stressed that senators play a critical role in safeguarding public resources and that their oversight should not be misconstrued as political rivalry or personal ambition. According to him, robust oversight mechanisms are essential to guarantee that devolved funds are utilised efficiently and for the direct benefit of the communities they are intended to serve, ultimately strengthening devolution and public trust in governance.

“Governors must allow proper oversight; they must not look at senators as enemies. Governors must stop thinking that money for devolution is theirs; they must think again that the money is for the people. We need to see what they are doing. If oversight mechanisms are properly applied, then counties will start being accountable for the money that comes to them,” Mungatana added.

The senator’s comments come amid ongoing discussions in Parliament about strengthening accountability frameworks for county governments, with many legislators urging more stringent checks to curb misuse of devolved resources.

Mungatana’s statement underscores the tension between the legislative and executive arms at the county level, highlighting the challenges of enforcing financial oversight in Kenya’s devolved governance system.