ODM Secretary General and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has launched a sharp attack on the Council of Governors (CoG), accusing it of attempting to intimidate the Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC) into abandoning its constitutional oversight role.
Speaking during the latest PAC sitting in Nairobi, Sifuna dismissed threats by governors to push for changes within the committee, saying such remarks expose discomfort with accountability rather than genuine concern for governance. He accused several county bosses of incompetence, particularly in the management of public funds.
The outspoken senator noted that many governors appear before the Senate ill-prepared, with little understanding of the documents they previously submitted to the Auditor-General. According to Sifuna, once confronted with audit queries, the governors turn defensive and claim they are being unfairly targeted or undermined.
Sifuna cited what he described as wasteful county spending, including the use of Ksh 4 million to light a Christmas tree months before Christmas, as well as the alleged misuse of public funds in Embu County under Governor Cecily Mbarire to finance a politically motivated boda boda event. He argued that such expenditures are at the heart of the scrutiny governors are now trying to evade.
“Threatening to make changes in this committee doesn’t scare anyone,” Sifuna said, adding, “Who told these governors that replacing Sifuna will bring in a soft man to pamper them?”
He emphasized that the PAC was not created to collaborate with the Council of Governors, but to hold county governments accountable. Addressing allegations of extortion leveled against the committee, Sifuna dismissed them as baseless claims unsupported by evidence, insisting governors must instead account for billions of shillings flagged in audit reports.