The Senate Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has resolved to summon Kericho Governor Erick Mutai and Isiolo Governor Abdi Hassan Guyo after both failed to appear for scheduled audit hearings, sparking outrage among senators.
The two were expected to respond to queries arising from the Auditor General’s 2023–24 report. Instead, they wrote last-minute letters seeking postponements requests senators dismissed as unconvincing, dishonest, and an affront to Parliament.
Committee chairperson, Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang, accused the governors of deliberately frustrating CPAC’s constitutionally time-bound mandate.
“It is disheartening that today, the two governors chose not to appear before this committee,” Kajwang said, noting that Governor Mutai’s letter was received at 5:27 a.m. on the morning of the hearing. “We take that as contempt of Parliament.”
Kajwang added that guidelines require any request for deferment to be submitted seven days in advance, since counties receive a 14-day notice ahead of hearings. He further noted that audit officers had already travelled to Nairobi for the session, incurring expenses.
Due to the delay tactics, the committee invoked what Kajwang termed the “nuclear option”summons compelling the two governors to appear. He emphasized that CPAC must conclude examination of the 2023-24 audit reports by December 31, 2025, even if it means sitting through Christmas holidays.
Kericho Governor Mutai claimed he was scheduled to host a delegation of senators for an oversight tour, but Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei dismissed the explanation as misleading, calling Mutai “clever but dishonest.”
Isiolo’s Governor Guyo, through his county secretary, cited unavoidable commitments but promised to submit all documentation.
Several senators, including Vihiga’s Godfrey Osotsi, condemned the governors’ conduct as “the highest form of contempt,” warning that habitual last-minute postponement requests would no longer be tolerated.
CPAC ruled that future failure to honour summons could lead to the Inspector General of Police being ordered to physically present the governors before the Senate.
Kericho’s Mutai and Isiolo’s Guyo will now be required to appear before CPAC on dates to be communicated by the Clerk of the Senate.
