'Disrespectful!' Senate furious after 3 CSs fail to show up for questioning

The Senate was on Wednesday furious after three Cabinet Secretaries failed to show up for a scheduled grilling session.

Cabinet Secretaries Florence Bore (Labour), Alfred Mutua (Foreign Affairs) and Susan Nakhumicha (Health) were condemned for failing to attend the event organised by the House.

Speaker Amason Kingi described the conduct of the three ministers as discourteous and disrespectful and expressed displeasure with the trio for alleged late communication to the secretariat of the Senate.

“I am afraid we will not be able to proceed with this session because none of the CSs is present today for purposes of responding to these questions... certainly this behaviour, as an institution we are not going to tolerate,” Kingi said.

“If indeed a CS is unable to attend such a session, courtesy demands that they write to the Senate in good time so that the Senate can rearrange its business. Writing to the senate a few hours to the sitting shows discourteous and certainly, as an institution, we are not going to tolerate that."

The Labour CS, according to the statement by the Senate, was unable to attend the session because she accompanied President William Ruto on a trip to Tanzania.

However, the Senate did not disclose the reasons for non-attendance by the other two ministers.

Senate majority leader Aaron Cheruiyot similarly condemned the conduct of the three ministers as "unbecoming."

Cheruiyot underscored that the said ministers have never been members of Parliament therefore unlikely for them to discern the gravity of their action to the house.

“This is conduct unbecoming on the part of the two Cabinet Secretaries Mr Speaker. Appearance before Parliament is not a privilege and is not something to joke about. While I appreciate perhaps CS Nakhumicha and CS Alfred Mutua have never served in Parliament, maybe are struggling to understand the importance of the standing of this House,” Cheruiyot said.

The Senator further rubbished CS Bore’s excuse of accompanying President Ruto to Tanzania, saying that the trip was not the House’s business.

“Traveling to whatever part of the country accompanying whoever including the president Mr Speaker is not the business of this House. What we have in this house Mr Speaker is business that has been brought by the people of Kenya through their representatives,” Cheruiyot said.

“We want to tell CS Nakhumicha and CS Alfred Mutua that you are grossly out of order. Behave yourselves properly next time, write to parliament in good time because parliament does not work out of idleness,” he added.

He called for an immediate apology from the respective Cabinet Secretaries once they are rescheduled for another sitting, accusing them of being aware of the session and deliberately choosing not to attend.