Sifuna proposes funds cut to punish governors snubbing committee summons
By Cynthia Lodite, March 17, 2026Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has proposed new regulations that will ensure all governors summoned by the Senate Public Accounts Committee to answer audit queries attend without fail.
Speaking on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, during the Senate proceedings, the Nairobi senator suggested that funds to such county governors’ offices should be stopped.
“We need to stop funds going to some of these people’s counties so that they can appear,” Sifuna stated.
The suggestion follows complaints that some governors skip the special Senate Public Accounts Committee to answer audit queries, with the Samburu governor being on the spot.
“We want the IG of Police to make good to this house to bring the Samburu Governor to the Senate, followed by the Governor of Nairobi, Johnson Sakaja,” Sifuna said.
Samburu Governor Lati Lelelit recently failed to appear before the Senate Public Accounts Committee to answer audit queries, but was reportedly present at a ruling party National Governing Council (NGC) meeting at State House.
The no-show sparked outrage in the committee, which swiftly shifted its fire from the elusive governor to the Inspector General of Police, accusing him of shielding a fugitive from accountability and turning constitutional oversight into a game of hide-and-seek.
“We told the Inspector General in no uncertain terms to find, arrest and produce the Governor before this committee today. Has the IG complied? We do not have anyone from the IG. That means the person in contempt of Parliament, besides the Governor, is the Inspector General of Police,” committee chair Moses Kajwang stated.
Search for Samburu Governor
The committee had directed the Inspector General of Police as early as December 2025 to arrest and present the governor, after repeated summons were ignored.
The Office of the Inspector General later wrote asking for more time to trace the Samburu county boss, a claim that drew reactions after it emerged that the governor was attending a highly publicised political meeting in the Statehouse.
After a long overdue search, the Samburu County Governor, Lati Lelelit and his executive team faced an intense interrogation before the Senate County Public Investment Committee and Special Funds, as senators examined the Auditor General’s reports for the 2024/2025 financial year.
The audit covered the county water company, Maralal Municipality, and two major hospitals.
Taking it to their social media handles on Thursday, March 12, 2026, the parliament has confirmed that the Senate County Public Investment Committee and Special Funds, presided over by its sessional chair, Committee Vice Chair Senator Eddy Oketch, opened the hearing by warning that the Senate would not tolerate what he described as a pattern of administrative negligence and deliberate obstruction of oversight.
The tension escalated immediately when the committee turned to the Samburu Water and Sanitation Company (SAWASCO), which had received a disclaimer of opinion from the auditor general after auditors were denied key financial records and supporting schedules.