PLO Lumumba has come out to completely dismiss the Devolution Conference, describing it as a total waste of time and resources.

Speaking on a local radio station on Monday, August 11, 2025, he likened the event to a jamboree, claiming it consumes billions of shillings that could be put to more productive use.

“Look at the Governors’ conference; it’s a jamboree. You will hear billions of shillings have been spent. We are not a federal; America does not hold such nonsense. South Africa doesn’t hold such nonsense, and even the governors know it’s nonsense,” Lumumba said.

He argued that Kenya is not a federal state and pointed out that countries like the United States and South Africa do not hold such events.

Lumumba noted that the amount of money governors would spend during the conference in Homa Bay could potentially provide computers to nearly half of the schools in the country.

“Because if you look at the amount of money that will be spent by governors during those days in Homa Bay, it will be in billions, which could have even supplied computers to possibly half of the schools in this country,” he added.

He criticised the nature of the meeting, suggesting it is treated as a gathering of supposed liberators of counties, yet in reality, governors remain largely unchecked in their activities.

He further stated that while some governors may perform better than others in managing their administrations, the level of theft and looting in counties remains alarming.

Devolution conference

This comes a day before the much-anticipated Devolution Conference, which will be hosted in Homa Bay County. Preparations for the event began with a pre-Devolution Conference overseen by County Governor Gladys Wanga, with a hackathon and a skating competition being the highlights of the activities.

The hackathon is a 48-hour exercise aimed at developing a tech solution, with the winners earning entry into the main conference and being assigned a booth to showcase their work to visitors, including the President, who will also be in attendance.

The winners of the hackathon will also be taken to the Microsoft Tech Garage, where they will gain hands-on experience with real-world tech challenges handled there.