By Robert Nyasato
Senators and Governors in Dispute Over Devolution Implementation
A significant conflict has emerged between governors and senators regarding the execution of devolved functions, jeopardizing the 14-year-old devolution system, which is celebrated as one of the achievements of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution.
Senators maintain their role as protectors of county governments, advocating for increased financial allocations to counties. Conversely, governors express dissatisfaction with senators, accusing them of deliberate interference and suggesting they aim to damage their reputations with corruption allegations to secure electoral advantages.
Through their representative body, the Council of Governors (CoG), governors escalated their stance by threatening to ignore Senate summonses, asserting that senators demand substantial bribes during committee appearances.
Rather than denying the corruption allegations, senators invited governors to identify any officials implicated in such misconduct.
Additionally, senators claimed governors distribute funds to conceal irregularities and evade scrutiny by oversight committees like CPIC and CPAC.
However, the underlying question persists: what consequences follow when governors face public censure during committee investigations?
Beyond requiring governors to address audit inquiries and account for fund expenditures, the Senate has taken limited action to promote responsible resource management in county governments.
The Auditor-General, Nancy Gathungu, and Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o, have effectively exposed questionable spending of devolved funds, yet the Senate has not adequately utilized these findings to hold governors accountable.
After one year of the third Senate’s term, no governor has faced successful prosecution or disciplinary action for misuse of public funds.
During the 2025/26 fiscal period, the 47 county governments received Sh415 billion as their revenue allocation, representing a Sh30 billion increase from the previous year’s Sh4.3 trillion national budget, which is expected to grow to Sh4.7 trillion in the following year.
Despite the Senate’s highly publicized criticism of governors for misappropriating funds intended for grassroots development projects as envisioned by the Constitution framers, minimal improvements have materialized.
Facing mounting pressure and recognizing their constitutional obligation to appear before the Senate, governors initially complied with summonses. They subsequently developed tactics to circumvent senatorial oversight.
Various governors request additional time to prepare documentation, claim illness to avoid attendance, or submit extensive documentation that senators lack sufficient time to thoroughly examine for discrepancies.
Some engage in confrontational discussions with their respective senators, prompting committees to suspend proceedings to prevent public airing of disputes.
It must be acknowledged that the Senate frequently appears ineffective in managing the governors’ resistance.
Evidently, no senator maintains constructive working relationships with their governors. Senators criticize county administrators for operating without regard to the Senate’s supervisory responsibilities.
Governors, in turn, believe senators are determined to infringe upon their constitutional authority.
The Senate has also taken minimal steps to ensure that county governments receive funding proportional to their devolved functions. The principle should be that resources align with responsibilities.
For example, health is constitutionally devolved to counties, yet policy decisions remain centralized with substantial national budgets far exceeding allocations for local health infrastructure, personnel, medications, and other medical necessities.
If devolution is to advance, the Senate should revive discussions about why the national government retains control over essential aspects of fully devolved functions.
Following the perspective of the late Raila Odinga, county oversight should primarily be conducted by county assemblies, allowing the Senate to focus on policy development and revenue distribution to devolved entities.
Consequently, the Senate should prioritize strengthening county assemblies’ capabilities to perform their supervisory responsibilities effectively.
The author represents the Kisii Press Club.