Governors have vowed to defy future summonses by the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC), despite the risk of police targeting those who have continued to skip scheduled appearances.

The Council of Governors (CoG) protested Monday’s attempt to arrest Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, accusing the Senate of personalising what it described as an institutional matter and a collective decision to boycott the committee.

CoG Chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi said governors will continue appearing before all other oversight and sectoral committees but will avoid CPAC until accusations of extortion and harassment against four of its members are addressed.

The CoG further accused Senate leadership of blocking talks to resolve the impasse.

“You cannot continue engaging people who engage you on a different level that is not lawful, with impunity. It is impossible,” said CoG Vice Chairperson Muthomi Njuki.

“In a Senate of 67 members, only four have a problem, but the whole house, including the Speaker, has decided to sacrifice a very serious exercise by refusing to give us an audience to discuss the way forward,” he added.

The governors are pushing for CPAC to be reconstituted, with the removal of four senators they accused of extortion: chairperson Moses Kajwang (Homa Bay), Edwin Sifuna (Nairobi), Samson Cherargei (Nandi), and Johnes Mwaruma (Taita Taveta).

On Tuesday, police confirmed an operation to arrest Governor Sakaja and his Samburu counterpart, Lati Lelelit, acting on a Senate directive backed by Senate-issued arrest warrants.

The governors condemned the move, saying it amounted to coercion, intimidation, and an abuse of police powers, and demanded that all arrest warrants be withdrawn immediately.

“CoG notes with utmost concern the actions by the office of the Inspector General (IG) in what appears to be an unwarranted and disproportionate exercise of force in the attempt to arrest Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja,” said Abdullahi.

Police denied claims of a witch hunt, maintaining that the operations were lawful.

29 county bosses had been scheduled to appear before CPAC on Monday, but CoG said the timeline was too tight for meaningful engagements. 

“How would it be possible for 29 governors to appear? That is politics being played out,” Njuki said.

Only two governors showed up.

CPAC has until today to meet with the governors for a review of county accounts for the 2024/2025 financial year.