The constitutional oversight mechanism has descended into a dirty brawl. The Council of Governors has declared war on the Senate, accusing the Public Accounts Committee of turning accountability hearings into a theatre of extortion and humiliation.

The relationship between Kenya’s 47 governors and the Senate has hit a toxic new low. In a blistering statement, the Council of Governors (CoG) has threatened a total boycott of all future summonses by the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC). The allegations are grave: governors claim that the committee has transformed from a watchdog into an attack dog, used to settle political scores and, more damningly, to extort bribes from county chiefs. They argue that the "grilling" sessions are performance art designed to humiliate them rather than audit public funds.

This revolt strikes at the heart of Kenya’s devolution structure. The Senate’s primary mandate is to protect counties and oversee their expenditure. If governors refuse to appear, the entire accountability loop is broken. The CoG has specifically named and shamed key senators, accusing them of harassment and intimidation tactics that border on criminality. The message from the county bosses is unified: they will no longer offer themselves up as sacrificial lambs for senators seeking media soundbites.

The Accusations

The governors’ dossier of complaints paints a picture of a rogue committee:

• Political witch-hunts: Targeting governors from opposing political factions for excessive scrutiny.
• Extortion rings: Allegations that "facilitation fees" are demanded in exchange for favorable reports.
• Personal attacks: Senators accused of using parliamentary privilege to insult and demean governors on live television.

A Constitutional Crisis

The standoff creates a dangerous precedent. While no one denies the necessity of oversight, the governors’ claim that the process has been weaponized cannot be easily dismissed. Senators Moses Kajwang, Edwin Sifuna, and Samson Cherargei have been singled out by the CoG as the architects of this hostile environment. The Senators, in turn, accuse the governors of seeking to evade accountability and hide the rampant plunder of county resources.

As the stalemate hardens, the loser is the Kenyan taxpayer. With billions of shillings disbursed to counties annually, the lack of a functioning oversight mechanism opens the door to unchecked graft. The boycott threat is a high-stakes gamble by the governors—a demand for respect that looks suspiciously like a demand for immunity. Unless a truce is brokered, the Senate and the Counties are on a collision course that could derail the very promise of devolution.