Mbadi faces Ksh0.5M fine for skipping Senate grilling
By Rawlings Otieno, August 5, 2025A Senate Committee has summoned National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi for failing to appear before it to answer questions on the delayed payment to pensioners of the Kenya Railways Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme.
The Senate Labour Committee, chaired by West Pokot lawmaker Julius Murgor, warned the CS that should he fail to appear before the committee, he will be fined Ksh500,000.
“This committee has summoned National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to appear before us without fail on August 20 this year, since the matters at hand are pertinent, since it affects senior citizens who have served this country diligently,” said Murgor.
The committee was set to host Mbadi for discussion on the payment of a one-off Ksh2.6 billion honorarium to former councillors and a monthly pension to 11,919 others, and has failed to appear before the committee twice on Thursday, July 31, 2025, and on August 4, 2025.
The committee was also set to hold a meeting with Mbadi for deliberations on the delayed pension for pensioners of the Kenya Railways Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme, but he did not show up.
“This committee has just received a letter from National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi informing us that he will not be able to come today because he has been given an urgent assignment by President William Ruto,” said Murgor.
The committee was supposed to separately meet Mbadi, Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe and Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya to deliberate on the Petition regarding the payment of terminal dues and unremitted deductions to Maziwa Sacco.
Senator Betty Syengo (nominated) said that it was high time Mbadi was summoned to the committee since he has been elusive, stating that it was wrong for the Cabinet Secretary to fail to honour an invitation to give a way forward on the fate of the retirees.
Nominated Senator Miraj Abdullahi supported the decision to summon Mbadi since it was high time that the matter was brought to a close, since it was wrong for the senior citizens to keep on coming to the committee and not having their matters resolved.
Mbadi, who appeared before the Senate plenary to answer questions in March, told the house that he had received advice from the Attorney General, stating that there was no legal basis to pay former councillors who served in less than 20 years a Ksh200,000 honorarium each.
The CS told Senators there was no structured formula to pay the former councillors since most of them did not receive a salary but were receiving allowances, which varied in various parts of the country during their time of service.
“Let me state categorically that it is not in my interest not to pay former councillors their dues, but we must do it as per the law. My understanding is that the report by the task force is not binding; we need to have a legal framework in place for them to be paid,” said Mbadi.
The Senate Deputy Speaker, Kathuri Murungi, had asked Mbadi to explain why there was a delay in the implementation of a Senate resolution for the payment of former councillors despite the National Treasury pledging to factor their pay into the budget in the financial year 2022-2023.
Murungi told Mbadi that what they are trying to unlock is the resolution of the Senate on the matter, stating that the former councillors do not have any other forum to address their concerns, asking him to set aside the opinion of the Attorney General and honour what the Senate had approved.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale asked whether Mbadi was insinuating that the Attorney General has got power to veto the decision made by the Senate, which he said was not acceptable since it had been passed by the entire house after deliberation.
“Mbadi has been an experienced legislator who knows very well that Parliament does not work in vain. Former councillors from Uasin Gishu, Nandi and Kakamega counties visited me and informed me that the President had in the past promised to ensure they are paid their dues,” said Khalwale.