Kingi Must Restore Senate Reputation Amid Governors Conflict

The standoff between the Senate and the Council of Governors has escalated into a damaging public spectacle which demands urgent leadership from Amason Kingi.
As Speaker of the Senate, Kingi must step forward and decisively bring an end to the push and pull between the two institutions before it erodes public confidence in the Senate’s oversight role.
While some of the Senate’s actions have been framed as justified retaliation, the issues at hand are far too weighty to be reduced to confrontation and political brinkmanship.
Yet, since April 1, when tensions reached a boiling point following the mishandling of Samburu Governor Lati Lelelit within Parliament precincts, the Speaker has remained conspicuously silent.
The incident, widely circulated on video, showed Governor Lelelit being accosted outside Parliament by a group of senators reportedly led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna. This followed alleged instructions from the Speaker to have the governor arrested after reports emerged that he had been spotted within Senate grounds. What followed was an unseemly scuffle involving senators, including Migori’s Eddy Gicheru, and members of the governor’s security detail. In the chaos, the governor managed to break free and flee.
This episode did more than embarrass the Senate, it exposed a widening institutional rift and created fertile ground for the abuse of constitutional processes, particularly the Senate’s oversight mandate.
The incident did reveal that leaders can also exhibit hooligan tendencies.
Indeed, the Senate derives its authority from Article 125 of the Constitution, which grants it powers akin to those of the High Court to summon individuals, compel evidence, and examine witnesses. These are not trivial powers. They are meant to safeguard accountability, not to be weaponized in political disputes.
However, the Council of Governors also has a right to raise concernsprovided they are backed by credible evidence. Previous allegations of corruption within Senate committees, including claims targeting the Parliamentary Accounts Committee, marked an early warning sign of institutional breakdown.
The governors’ subsequent boycott of committee appearances signaled either a resistance to accountability or genuine fears over the misuse of parliamentary privilege. The speaker needed to have acted by inviting the Council of Governors to a meeting. He is a former Governor himself and thus not a stranger to the issues raised.
A recent ruling by Nyaga Heston Nyaga reaffirmed the Senate’s power to summon individuals, but crucially placed limits on its authority, particularly regarding arrests. The court was clear: the National Police Service, under the Inspector General, operates independently and cannot be directed by the Senate to effect arrests. Same with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. In that context, the Speaker’s alleged directive to arrest Governor Lelelit was not legally justified and the actions by the Senators did not have a basis.
The fallout from the Lelelit incident only deepened tensions. The Council of Governors was right to condemn the episode as “shocking and unacceptable,” noting that it undermined the dignity of the Office of the Governor as the head of a county government. The push and pull could have occasioned the use of fire arms, escalating the matter even further.
Even as some senators insist that governors must be “put in their place,” it is ultimately the Kenyan citizen who stands to lose. The public expects both institutions to operate within constitutional bounds, not descend into turf wars.
As the Senate exercises its quasi-judicial powers, it must do so with restraint, fairness, and a commitment to due process. Where necessary, collaboration with institutions such as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission should take precedence over theatrics.
At this critical moment, Amason Kingi occupies a powerful office, one that demands statesmanship.
With a shift in approach and meaningful engagement with the Council of Governors, he has the opportunity to de-escalate tensions, restore institutional dignity, and refocus both sides on what truly matters: delivering services to the Kenyan people. The senators must demonstrate the same levels of accountability they demand from Governors and vice versa.