Senate team issues summons against three CSs, Kenya Railways MD over non-appearance
Committee is looking into delayed payments of Railways pensioners, one-off honorarium for former councillors and petition by former KCC employees over unpaid dues
The Senate Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare has summoned three Cabinet secretaries after they failed to appear before it on Monday to respond to various labour issues.
Those summoned by the committee, which is chaired by West Pokot Senator Julius Murgor, are National Treasury and Economic Planning CS John Mbadi, Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives and MSMEs Development) and Dr Alfred Mutua (Labour and Social Protection).
Kenya Railways Managing Director Philip Mainga has also been summoned to appear before the committee on Wednesday, August 20, alongside the CSs at the County Hall Mini Chamber to respond to issues relating to relating to the delayed payment of pension to the corporation’s pensioners.
The other issues the committee is looking into relate to the Sh2 billion one-off honorarium for over 11,000 former councillors and delays in payment of terminal benefits amounting to Sh109,640,482 and outstanding SACCO dues of Sh92,803,457 owed to former employees of the defunct Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC), dating back to the 1990s.
The ex-workers want to be paid by New KCC, which they argue not only acquired KCC’s assets, but also took on liabilities, except those owed to them.
“The only liability that was excluded was the dues owed to these wazees. All other liabilities, including those owed to farmers and Kenya Commercial Bank, were settled,” their lawyer, Samada Simoni, told the committee, then chaired by Nominated Senator George Mbugua, last year.
“Failure to honour the summons will attract consequences as stipulated under Article 125 of the Constitution and the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act,” the Murgor committee warned.
During its previous session, the committee refused to listen to Public Investments and Assets Management Principal Secretary Cyrell Wagunda Odede, whom Mbadi had sent to represent him, insisting he must appear in person.
“We now understand that this will continue to drag because decisions are made at Cabinet level. We would like to have the CS appear so that these matters can be concluded. Otherwise, the longer it drags, the more we are seen not to be performers,” Murgor said at the time.
Kajiado Senator Samuel Seki Kanar questioned the rationale behind continuing the meeting without the CS present.
“If the CS is not here, then the petition will not be met. I don’t know the reason why we should keep the PS. Let the CS appear with the PS and deal with the matter conclusively,” he said.
Vice-Chairperson Crystal Asige emphasised that the continued absence of the CS is unacceptable.
“We have called upon the CS for many matters under his mandate, and he keeps failing to show up. Chair, this issue has dragged on for years. We need strong decisions and accountability,” she said.
Kitui Senator Enock Wambua, a friend of the committee, was blunt in his criticism of Mbadi, a former long-serving Member of Parliament and committee chair.
“He understands Parliament better than some of us. He even pushed for legislation to protect retirees. But now that he’s in the Executive, he’s running away from his own vision. Every time he’s required to appear, he claims to be attending Cabinet, Appearing before Parliament is a constitutional requirement—not a favour. If the committee has decided on a date, the CS must honor it. Let us not weaken the authority of this House by offering him options,” Wambua said.
During the previous session, the committee agreed to allow the petitioners to present brief statements, but insisted no further discussion would take place in the absence of the CS.
“We don’t want to waste the time of retirees who traveled to be here. Let us meet the CS on Monday, 4th August, so we avoid the Tuesday Cabinet excuse,” Murgor said.
The committee has in the past rescheduled several meetings and sent invitations to the National Treasury over the past two years without success.
In March, Mbadi was, however, clear that the government will not pay the honorarium to the ex-councillors citing lack of a legal framework.
“The delay in implementing the Senate resolution of 18th October 2018 and the recommendations of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the payment of honoraria and pensions to former councillors has been primarily due to legal constraints. The Attorney General, in a legal opinion dated May 8, 2023, advised that there was no legal basis to support the proposed one-off honoraria payment of Sh200,000 to former councillors who served for less than 20 years,” he said when he appeared before the Senate plenary to respond to members’ questions.
Apart from the three agenda, the committee is also looking into unpaid pensions for former Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) staff and non-remittance of death and disability benefits for public servants.
