We will not honour summonses until case is heard, governors tell senators

By Roselyne Obala and Moses Njagih

Kenya: Governors will not honour summonses by the Senate following a day of drama at the courts and Parliament and a crisis meeting by the counties’ chief executive officers.

Over 30 governors met yesterday at a Nairobi hotel and resolved they would not appear before a Senate committee for questioning over management of their counties’ affairs, until a case they have filed at the Supreme Court seeking an advisory opinion is heard and determined.

“We are not defying the Senate, but we respect the Constitution as the supreme law. We want the Supreme Court and the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) to interpret and give direction on the concerns we have raised,” chairman of Governors’ council Mr Isaac Ruto told a press conference yesterday after the crisis talks.

Earlier, two governors broke ranks with their colleagues and appeared before the Senate Finance Committee that had summoned them and seven other governors to explain queries raised by the Auditor General over spending by their governments.

Confirm impeachment

The governors, Julius Malombe (Kitui) and Okoth Obado (Migori), turned up at the Senate committee hearing yesterday to represent members of the Council of Governors’ Finance Committee.

But the Billow Kerrow-led committee turned them away as four other members of the team were not present, and warned of dire consequences if they fail to honour the summons to appear on Thursday next week.

Other members of the committee chaired by Wajir’s Governor Ahmed Abdulahi, include Sospeter Ojaamong (Busia), his Kwale counterpart Salim Mvurya and Garissa’s Nathif Adam.

“The Council of Governors is the legal entity that we can pursue given that they even enjoy  (national) Government funding. They may dilly-dally, but we will not hesitate to take the legal line. We will not restrict ourselves only to the stipulated penalties,” warned Kerrow.

In the High Court, the governors failed to get an injunction to bar the Senate from publishing its decision to confirm the impeachment of Embu Governor Nyagah Wambora.

However, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) termed the impeachment of Wambora by the Senate as null and void. LSK’s council members explained that the Senate had acted in defiance of an existing court order, which had restrained it from debating or discussing or upholding the verdict of the Embu committee’s findings.

“The decision and the proceedings undertaken by the Senate leading to the impeachment of Wambora are a nullity. The Senate defied an existing court order that had stopped the process,” said the LSK chairman Eric Mutua. But the governors also suffered another setback, as they will have to wait until today when the High Court will give direction on their application contesting the Senate summons.

Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi had mounted a spirited argument before Justice Mumbi Ngugi seeking orders to block the summonses.

The Senate and its Committee on Economic and Finance Affairs, through the Clerk of the House, has through witness summons, ordered various governors to appear before it from today. “We have served the Senate and its clerk the application and there is a return of service in the court file,” Abdullahi explained.

Lack quorum

On Tuesday, the Governors also met at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institution (Kari) headquarters in Nairobi for a round of talks before heading to the Nairobi meeting to draw up their resolutions. Governors who opt to appear before the Senate committee will do so at their discretion and not as a representative of the council members. “If any of the governors decides to appear before the committee, it is their own personal decision,” Munya said. He spoke as reports the two governors had shown up at the Senate hearing filtered through to the Kari meeting.

Mohammed, the Wajir Governor, had said at Kari: “We have no issues with Senators inviting us to shed light on administrative matters touching on our Counties but the meetings should be for consultations.”

“When we received the invites, we had to also gather our colleagues who are based in their counties. When we appeared before the Senate Committee we lacked quorum and this must have not gone down well with the senators,” Mohammed said.

Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki warned of serious consequences if the Governors ignored the summons.

“Since the matter has been filed, we should give the Supreme Court an opportunity to articulate, interpret and give directions on the matter,” Ruto said. “We request that the Senate suspend the summons pending the clarification.”