Tuesday, 23rd September 2025

Serjeant-at-Arms, ring the Quorum Bell.

We now have quorum. Members on your feet, take your seats. Mwalimu Milemba, take the nearest seat.

I am told that the little girl is about 20 years old. She graduated from a bronze medal in the last Olympic Games in the same event.

She did the same thing she did in Paris during the Olympic Games.

It was one of the most spectacular marathon finishes for those of you who watched it. They entered the final lap in the arena neck to neck with an Ethiopian runner, but she outsprinted her.

Silver Medals—

Actually, the girls completely overshadowed the boys in this regard. This was made possible by wins by Lilian Odira in 800 metres, Faith Kipyegon in 1,500 metres; Faith Cherotich in 3,000 metres steeplechase; Beatrice Chebet in 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres; and Peres Jepchirchir, who won the marathon.

As I commend their superlative performances, I also wish to laud all other gallant sportsmen and women in other major sports competitions for flying our flag high and bolstering our patriotism.

On my own behalf, that of the House and, indeed, that of the whole country, I wish to congratulate Team Kenya on its participation in the 20th Edition of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and to recognise their historic achievements in the global arena.

Hon. Member, after Order No.9, I shall accord the House a moment of felicitation, starting with the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Sports and Culture, the House Leadership and thereafter Hon. Cynthia Muge, Member for Nandi County, who apart from being the representative with the highest number of gold medalists in this event, was the first to file a request to offer felicitations. I order that, at the right time, the House shall record its felicitations for a maximum of 45 minutes.

Hon. Members, I also hasten to mention that I went to Kampala accompanied by the Hon. Member for Rarieda Constituency to salvage the hosting of the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) Games. So, when it comes to giving comments, I will accord him the first opportunity to speak to this matter. We were running the risk of having no host.

More importantly, I do not want to see a repeat of Mombasa. We performed very badly even when we were hosting. Let us start in earnest. I have directed the Clerk of the National Assembly to avail facilities and capacity to teams to train and prepare properly and thoroughly so that we do not go to Uganda and be hopeless bystanders as others harvest medals, like we saw in Mombasa. Members at the Bar, please come in.

As I said, after Order No.9, I will allow us to felicitate Team Kenya. I have noticed what is missing in the Communication. At least, we should have saluted the coaches of this Team who made proper selection of good athletes, mentored them and took them to give Kenya an image worth emulating.

Next Order.

Hon. Members, I wish to convey a Petition regarding a proposal to amend the Consumer Protection Act that provides for the In Duplum Rule.

Article 119 of the Constitution accords any person the right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within its authority. Further, Standing Order 225(2)(b) requires the Speaker to report to the House any Petitions other than those presented by Members.

In this regard, I wish to report to the House that my office has received a Petition from Mr Allen Waiyaki Gichuhi, EBS, Senior Counsel, of Wamae and Allen Advocates, calling for the House to consider amending the Consumer Protection Act Cap.501 to codify the In Duplum Rule.

The Petitioner avers that the purpose of the Rule is to protect borrowers from exploitation, prevent endless accumulation of interest and encourage fair lending practices. Section 44(A) of the Banking Act codifies the In Duplum Rule, which provides that interest on a loan ceases to accrue once it equals the outstanding principal amount when a loan becomes non-performing. The Petitioner further states that despite the existence of this Law, many borrowers continue to suffer from banks, financial institutions, unscrupulous lenders and shylocks charging interest and penalties beyond the principal loan amount. These practices have resulted in the violation of consumer rights under Article 46 of the Constitution and have exposed Kenyans to unfair deprivation of property.

Additionally, the inconsistent judicial interpretations of the scope and timing of application of the Rule, whether before or after restructuring a loan or whether penalties count as interest, further lead to the harassment of borrowers by debt collectors even after repayment obligations have exceeded the statutory threshold. The lack of clarity and enforcement undermines public confidence in the financial sector and violates national values under Article 10 of the Constitution, especially on transparency, accountability and social justice.

Hon. Members, the Petitioner, therefore, prays that the National Assembly considers amending the Consumer Protection Act Cap 501 to provide for when the In Duplum Rule takes effect, and whether it applies to penalties, default charges and other costs in addition to interest; provide for uniform mechanisms for debt restructuring and recovery in compliance with the Rule, and redress mechanisms for borrowers who have been subjected to unlawful interest charges, including refunds or set-offs, any other mechanisms that will secure borrowers from exploitation, enhance consumer protection and uphold the Constitution.

Having established that the matter raised in the Petition is well within the authority of this House; and further, that the matters raised in this Petition are not pending before any court of law, constitutional or legal body, I hereby commit the Petition to the Public Petitions Committee for consideration pursuant to Standing Order 208A.

The Committee is required to consider the Petition and report its findings to the House and the Petitioner in accordance with Standing Order 227(2).

Yes, Hon. Omboko Milemba.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I thank the Petitioner for raising this matter on the Consumer Protection Act and any other relevant existing legal frameworks. I vividly remember that this is one area in which former legislator, Joe Donde dwelt on for a very long time. It seems as though the matter had once been put in law as the Petitioner requests. Banks and other lending institutions are still very harsh on borrowers and they have made it difficult for ordinary citizens within our communities to borrow money.

Worst still are the other players who have come onboard and who seem not to be controlled or checked by this law. These are the many mushrooming small financial institutions that are also giving loans to many Kenyans. As the Committee looks at this Petition, it should consider roping in other lending institutions which are making it very difficult for Kenyans to borrow money by catapulting interest rates beyond what the borrowers can afford.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Zamzam.

Ahsante sana, Mheshimiwa Spika. Ninampongeza yule aliyeleta Ombi hili. Wale wanaodai wenzao hizi loan wamepita mipaka sasa. Juzi nilikuwa na watu wanaofanya biashara ya tuktuk na walitaja kampuni ambazo zinatoa loan kama vile Mogo, Tala na nyinginezo. Unapata mtu ametoa jasho lake na kulipia tuktuk hadi loan imebaki pengine Ksh10,000. Anapokosa kulipa siku moja ama mbili, anapokonywa ile tuktuk. Miaka ya nyuma, niliwahi kuchukua mkopo wa Ksh2,800 kwa Tala ili nijue mambo hutendeka vipi. Amini usiamini, nililipa Ksh4,000, Ksh11,000, na Ksh14,000. Ilifika mahali ambapo walinidai Ksh16,000 kutokana na mkopo wa Ksh2,800. Kila walipotuma message, niliiangalia tu kwa sababu huo ulikuwa ni wizi wa dhahiri. Wakenya wengi wanalia huko nje. Wanachukua mikopo ya pesa kidogo lakini kile kiwango cha riba wanachodaiwa kinajilimbikiza kushinda zile pesa wamechukua.

Wakenya wengi wamepoteza mali yao. Kampuni za Mogo na Tala zimewaibia Wakenya pesa nyingi kwa hivyo lazima tuweke sheria za kuwadhibiti ili tuhakikishe kuwa hata kama wanataka kupata kiwango kikubwa cha riba, kisiwe zaidi ya idadi ya pesa ambazo mtu amekopa.

Ninampongeza yule aliyeleta Ombi hili. Ningependa kumwambia kama mama kutoka Mombasa kuwa ninawaunga mkono watu wa bodaboda, tuktuk, mama mboga na biashara zao ndogo zisiibiwe na hawa watu. Nitaunga mkono jitihada za kutunga sheria ili tuweze kudhibiti industry hiyo.

Ahsante sana, Mheshimiwa Spika.

Hon. Eckomas.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. At the outset, I thank Senior Counsel Allen Gichuhi for bringing the Petition.

Hon. Speaker, I wanted to bring to your attention the fact that I wrote to your Office on 17th September 2025 proposing similar legal reforms. I do not know what will happen to my proposed reforms now that you have committed the Petition to the Public Petitions Committee. I sought to introduce similar amendments.

I confirm that I received your proposal. It is under consideration. This Petition does not compromise your intentions.

I am most obliged, Hon. Speaker.

Next Order.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. It is nice to be back for the last Part of the Fourth Session.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table:

Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table:

Reports of the Budget and Appropriations Committee on its consideration of:

Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table:

Reports of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs on its consideration of the approval hearings of:

Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table:

Report of the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations on the approval hearings of nine nominees for appointment as High Commissioners, Ambassadors, and Consuls-General. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Chairperson of the Public Petitions Committee, Hon. Karemba.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table:

Reports of the Public Petitions Committee on its consideration of:

Hon. Members, before the next Order, allow me to acknowledge St. Mary's High School from Wundanyi, Taita Taveta County, seated in the Speaker's Gallery. If you are in the Gallery and you are mentioned, stand up to be acknowledged.

Thank you. You may take your seats. We also have Rwathia Girls School from Kangema, Murang’a County.

In the Public Gallery, we have St. Jude Catholic Primary from Embakasi East in Nairobi County, and Bright Future Vision Academy from Kabete in Kiambu County. On my behalf and that of the House, we welcome the students, their teachers and those accompanying them to the House of Parliament.

Hon. Wangari, you may proceed.

Thank you. Hon. Speaker. I join you to welcome the students to this House. I schooled at Rwathia Primary School in Kangema Constituency. My mother, Nancy Wanjira, was the secretary at Rwathia Girls Secondary School for 42 straight years until 2018. It is a school that is very close to me and to my heart. I also welcome students from all of the other schools.

Thank you. Congratulations to your mother. Next Order.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:

AWARE THAT, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) enacted in the year 2000, was designed to enhance economic development and strengthen governance in eligible Sub-Saharan African countries by granting duty-free access to the United States of America market, thereby increasing trade and investment; Recognising that, AGOA has played a critical role in expanding trade, attracting investment and creating employment, especially for the low- income workers, thus fostering economic growth and social stability; concerned that, the current extension of the AGOA programme, which was granted in 2015, is set to expire in September 2025, posing a serious risk of economic disruption will cause job losses of approximately 66,000 Kenyans, and many other related indirect job losses, and result in increased poverty across AGOA-dependent sectors in the Sub-Saharan region; noting that women comprise approximately 75 per cent of the direct beneficiaries of AGOA, and that their incomes directly support education, healthcare and poverty alleviation; Acknowledging that, AGOA has significantly boosted African exports to the United States of America, including agricultural products such as coffee, nuts, fruits and vegetables

amounting to over US $500 million in the year 2020, as well as enhancing local textile and cotton industries that have generated thousands of jobs; further acknowledging that, the expiration of the term of AGOA would trigger market uncertainty, deter investment, disrupt supply chains, and adversely impact both African and American businesses that rely on AGOA-linked trade; cognisant of the fact that, AGOA has been greatly beneficial to the United States of America by supporting supply chain diversification, strengthening bilateral trade ties and connecting United States of America businesses to opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA); appreciating that, the continued existence of the AGOA framework would enhance the trade and investment prospects for both the United States of America and the eligible countries in Africa; Now therefore, the House urges the Government of Kenya, in collaboration with the Government of the United States of America, to pursue an extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act for an additional 16 years until 2041, to safeguard the economic gains, protect livelihoods, and promote long-term stability and prosperity across the African continent, and in the alternative, in the case of non-renewal, there be a transition period of two years to develop a trade deal that shall safeguard the businesses and job opportunities in both Kenya and the United States of America. Thank you.

Thank you, Hon. Kagiri. The next set of notices is by the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Legal and Justice Affairs, Hon. Murugara.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:

THAT, taking into consideration the findings of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs in its Report on the approval hearing of a nominee for appointment as Chairperson of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 23rd September 2025; and pursuant to the provisions of Article 250 (2) of the Constitution, Section 11 of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Act, Cap 7I and Sections 3 and 8 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, Cap 7F, approves the appointment of Hon. (Ms) Claris Awuor Ogangah as the Chairperson of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:

THAT, taking into consideration the findings of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs in its report on the approval hearings of nominees for appointment as Registrar and Assistant Registrar of Political Parties, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 23rd September 2025, and pursuant to the provisions of Sections 3 and 8 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, Cap 7F, approves the appointment of:

Thank you, Sir George. The next notice is by the Vice-Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations, Hon. Bashir.

Commissioner Makau, can you disband that kamukunji? Order! Is that Commissioner Makau? Oh, it is Hon. ole Ntutu.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:

THAT, taking into consideration the findings of the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations in its Report on the Approval Hearings of nine (9) Nominees for Appointment as High Commissioner, Ambassador and Consuls-General, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 23rd September 2025, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 132 (2) (e) of the Constitution, Section 20 (2) of the Foreign Service Act, Cap.185E and Sections 3 and 8 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, Cap. 7F, this House approves the appointment of the following persons as High Commissioner, Ambassadors and Consuls-General:

Thank you, Hon. Bashir. Clerk-at-the-Table, skip Order 7 for now. Call out Orders 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

(National Assembly Bill No.18 of 2025)

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Allow me to congratulate our athletes who performed very well in Tokyo. It demonstrates that as a country, we remain an athletics powerhouse and other pretenders to the throne should take note.

On EALA, I wish to inform Members that I was privileged to accompany the Speaker to Uganda. As already advised, the Republic of Burundi was to be our next host, but she could not host for some reasons. Next in that rotation should have been the East African Legislative Assembly, which was also unable to host, again for reasons that can be discussed later. The Republic of Uganda was then to host after that. Therefore, it took the persuasion of our Hon. Speaker and other Speakers who were present to persuade the Republic of Uganda to bring forward their hosting, essentially by two years. They graciously accepted, confirming that they will be able to host the Games between 5th and 17th December. The details of the exact place for hosting were left for the Central Planning Committee, which should be meeting any time soon. The Central Planning Committee will then communicate the schedules and the exact venues.

Hon. Speaker, I wish to urge our own Bunge Sports Executive Committee to plan in haste, first, in terms of securing hotels, appropriate transport mechanisms and advising Members in advance; and, secondly, to plan in haste in terms of securing appropriate uniforms in the right sizes for Hon. Members. Over the years, although this has improved in the last three, two and the last one year, there is still room for improvement. Some Members are still not able to get the right uniforms that they require. I also urge the Committee and the leadership of these two Houses to allow Members to prepare for the games appropriately; to prepare by arranging friendly matches, and allowing and arranging the respective disciplines and at least have some camp for training before the games.

Hon. Speaker, we did badly in Mombasa, but it must also be understood that we only travelled with one day to spare. Many of the other teams had camped in Mombasa for at least one week, which we were not privileged to have. We hope, now that we are going to our neighbouring country, we will be allowed to at least camp and bring supporters, which we have not usually brought, even if those supporters are in the name of our own staff members. We also hope that we will be able to prepare for these games appropriately.

Hon. Speaker, I am confident that with the eight or nine disciplines that will be participating, we will do much better than we did in Mombasa. On behalf of the football team, I can assure you and this House that we are practising in earnest and we look forward to all the support that we can get from the leadership.

Thank you, Hon. Amollo. The Joint Planning Committee for the games, of which you and Hon. Kawaya are Members, must take this very seriously. In Mombasa, you recall, I went to watch the volleyball game against Rwanda or Burundi. You did not even have a substitute player; not even one substitute player. We were not very comfortable. You saw our football team, how Tanzania sent rings around us and so on and so forth. Please prepare in earnest. The Clerk is directed, as I said, to enable the teams to prepare properly and thoroughly. You must be physically fit to play football Hon. Omboko Milemba.

Now, I will give the chance to the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Sports and Culture. Hon. Dan Wanyama is not here. So, I will allow Hon. Cynthia Muge, who wanted to make a statement on this. Thereafter, can we do two minutes each?

Hon. Cynthia, go ahead.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to congratulate the great sportsmen and women who represented Kenya in Tokyo for the 2025 championship. We are proud of that team because it has brought back the glory to Kenya, as the powerhouse for sports and athletics, as has always has been.

Hon. Speaker, this is our third best performance since the inauguration of the World Athletics Championships. We had 15 medals previously, but we have 11 medals now. We appreciate all the gold medalists whose list you have presented to this House today. We appreciate their efforts. This is the team that hoists the flag of Kenya every time, but they are not appreciated enough for the good work they do.

We remain the best in Africa. It is such a proud moment to be African and even the best time to be Kenyan. Every day, our athletes confirm that Kenya is the absolute kingdom of athletics and championships. We appreciate the people who represented us, as a country. I also note that over time, our athletes have been doing a very good job. Previously, we contemplated to have translators for them. However, when I listened to our athletes like Ewoi, Peres, Wanyonyi and Faith Kipyegon speaking this time round, I was proud as a Kenyan because they presented and expressed themselves.

This also calls for a level of responsibility for us, as a country, who host these great people. What are we doing to support sports? I appreciate the Kenya Kwanza Government for the up to standard stadia we are building. I see a brighter future for our athletes. We appreciate them so that they can continue hoisting the Kenyan flag. We tell all the gold medalists and the people who participated that as Kenyans, we...

Thank you. Hon. KJ is next.

Hon. Speaker, I thank you for your Communication. You indicated that Kenya is a very small country compared to a country like the United States of America which is probably six times the size of Kenya in population and around 17 times in size. We celebrate our athletes who brought us glory. I have some observations going forward. As you noted in your Communication, our male athletes need a boost. Secondly, I recognise that sports are national events. It does not matter who will wear the gold medal.

Every community had an opportunity to bring glory to Kenya in the past. When we see a runner from Migori winning gold and breaking a record, this brings our country together in such a way that we are reminded of our glorious times when we knew a medal in athletics could come from anywhere. We had Rose Tata-Muya from the Eastern part of Kenya, John Ngugi and Wanjiru from Central Kenya. We have Omanyala and Odira from Nyanza now.

Omanyala is not from Nyanza.

Omanyala comes from western and Odira from Nyanza. Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I stand to be corrected. Our powerhouse is Rift Valley, where we breed champions. The World Athletics Championships needed leadership just like the African Nations Championship that ended recently. When we offered it, we started winning again. I congratulate Kenya and the athletes for bringing Kenya back to winning on the national and international platforms.

I thank you very much, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Bensuda.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute, and for spearheading the love for sports. You have given a clear framework for others who are yet to come.

I rise on behalf of women in this nation to confirm that truly we can lead. The athletes who went there exhibited exemplary performance. This portrays that women are capable and competent of leading and giving the mantle. I also rise on behalf of Nyanza region. We have a movement of Luos in this country called Sigand nyinam which is the story of the Daughters of the Lake. Lilian Odira comes from Migori County. We, as the Daughters of the Lake, are celebrating. The athletes will be invited for dinner. Organise a special dinner for the Speaker and invite all women in this House and the athletes who won in the Athletics Championships. I congratulate them.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you. Is that Hon. Kimaiyo or Hon. Cherorot who is raising his hand? It is Hon. Cherorot.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to congratulate our athletes who made us proud in Tokyo. This country is actually a powerhouse because of athletics.

I will talk about Beatrice Chebet, who comes from my constituency. There is a camp we started in 2006, where Beatrice started from. She has really proved to be one of the heroines who can represent this country. We rely on athletes who use only food without enhancing substances. I encourage them to always practice without doping. The coaches are unseen but they train the athletes. We are proud of our athletes. Congratulations to those who represented us abroad.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you. Yes, Hon. Mwalyo. You normally sit somewhere else.

Nimehama. Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute. I congratulate our athletes for the best performance and the pride they have brought to this country. We are rated one of the best in the World Athletics Championships in this continent.

Given the sports academies that are being built in many of our constituencies, we will do better in the future because we will take our students there to practice. The young people who have finished schools and have nothing to do can practice and excel in sports. We congratulate them. Well done to our Kenyan team.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you, Hon. Mwalyo. Hon. Haika is next.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute. I join my colleagues in congratulating Team Kenya, which was in Tokyo for the very good performance that united the country. We had football recently that also brought the country together.

I also congratulate the Government for the good work it is doing for the sportsmen and sportswomen in this country. The many stadia and sports academies that are being built will go a long way in supporting talent in this country. This has not just happened. I know there was a lot of hard work, focus and discipline. Therefore, I urge the students who are here to work hard. I also congratulate St. Mary’s High School from Taita Taveta. I welcome them to Bunge. We are honoured to have you here.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Kibagendi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also take this opportunity to appreciate and congratulate our team that represented Kenya in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. It is indeed a demonstration that Kenyans’ resilience and determination is something the rest of the world should emulate. We would like to call upon the Government and all stakeholders in athletics to also give attention to our men athletes. This time, they did not perform as well as expected, and we must ensure that they too received the necessary support. We congratulate our team on the wonderful job they continue to do.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for the opportunity to commend our athletes.

As a lover of athletics and a promoter of the Eldoret City Marathon, I was greatly delighted with the performance of our athletes. As parliamentarians, we should continue supporting this nurturing process. We have already worked on some of our stadiums, and they are now world accredited. This means we can now bid to host major events such as the World Championships. Last time, we missed hosting as our stadiums were not up to standard but they now are. Thanks to the African Nations Championship (CHAN) football tournament that was held here.

We also want to request that the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports put more effort into not just celebrating the athletes once they have made history, but also to nurture them. We have several promising athletes based in Uasin Gishu, Nandi and Elgeyo Marakwet counties, living in dilapidated training camps. These camps are privately owned but most of them sometimes do not have food, clothes and other necessities. One of the things we need to emphasise is nurturing them before they make the news. I urge all Members to support our athletes.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Okuome.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for the opportunity to air my opinion on what happened in Japan. It was a wonderful job.

Congratulations to all our teams that represented Kenya. In particular, let me congratulate Odira. She comes from Migori, an area which has never been heard in matters

athletics. This is a wonderful effort. We must congratulate her and encourage those who are not concerned in my region. I urge them to do better, so that Kenya can also benefit from its promising athletes who compete nationally and internationally.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Karitho.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity.

I take this chance to applaud and congratulate our athletes who were in Tokyo. They did us proud. I was very happy as many other Kenyans were, when our flag was raised high against even other bigger economies and stronger countries in the world. They really made us proud.

This has been a year of blessings to us as a country in terms of sports. Harambee Stars did wonders for us. It shows that given an opportunity, if promoted and supported, our players and teams, can do wonders. We encourage our young people to continue taking part in sports. Currently, it a profession that pays well. We encourage our young people to continue participating and giving their best, so that this country can also grow.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Mama Busia.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I want to applaud our Team Kenya for flying our flag very high and raising it everywhere. Kenyan athletes make us realise that we do not have boundaries. When it comes to athletics Kenya is one, irrespective of the region the athletes come from. At such times, all Kenyans get glued to the screens, pray for our team, and just wish that we take it. This is what we should be doing in the progress of our own country.

I want to appreciate the President for supporting and motivating these young people. I appeal that we must keep supporting them and their welfare. Everything that they need ought to be given to them on time. We need all the counties to also participate in all other games in the world.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. King’ara.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to congratulate Kenyans who did well in Japan and elsewhere.

It has been noted that when athletes are motivated, they do their work well. We do not know whether we have ample budget to facilitate our sportsmen and women when they are out there. You have noted that when the footballers were rewarded, they did very well. But do we have a consistent budget that can facilitate them consistently so that they can do well? Parliament should honour this by coming out strongly, including giving a room or a garden.

When I stood here to talk about sports matters, I requested that Parliament get good facilities, including a field where we can engage in our own sports affairs. Even the private sector has the same. This is not a big deal. Let us work on having good facilities even for ourselves.

Finally, concerning parliamentary games, we are not consistent. I am in athletics and we are not consistent. We need to start early as you directed and also guided, especially on which facilities to use. We have not been committed. You realise that we are old…

Thank you. Hon. Wangari says you are old alone. It is not collective. Give him 30 seconds.

The point I wanted to make is that we have very young parliamentarians here who I do not find out there. That is where the age is coming in. Let us have our own young parliamentarians out there, competing with the rest of the East African Community. Thank you.

Hon. Oundo.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. On behalf of the people of Funyula Constituency, allow me to congratulate and sincerely thank the athletes who brought honour and fame to the people of Kenya.

It was always refreshing and captivating to watch. Whenever I had time, I watched. It indeed showed that there is another face of Kenya that is beamed to international media all over the world, differently from what is sometimes portrayed elsewhere.

We continuously urge the athletics authority and the sports fraternity to continuously invest in male sports. We seem to have started lagging in the male sports, which is not a good sign at all. Men did much better than the ladies for very many years. I have nothing against the ladies, but as we invest in women's sports, let us also invest in men’s sports. The neglect of the boychild is now being reflected all over - be it in schools, performance, employment and marital status. It is important that, as a society, we address this matter critically so that we can move at the same pace.

Finally, when you talked about the poor performance of the East African Community Inter-Parliamentary Games (EAC-IPG) , Hon. Jack Wamboka said that they did not lose much. They might have lost on the pitch, but they scored other medals. The time for the medals to be seen is around.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

The only medals I recognise are the ones that I saw. Hon. Mutunga.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for the opportunity. I want to join in expressing gratitude from the people of Tigania West to our team that went to Tokyo and did a great job. The ladies got gold several times and our flag was raised many times – the jubilation and enthusiasm of Kenyans was telling. We are happy that our flag was hoisted many times. This week Kenya has been on the global map for good reasons. Our President made a very important statement in the USA concerning Haiti. He told the world that Kenya is not a “sleep giant”. Kenya is not only on the frontline of athletics but also on other areas.

The discovery that incentives drive commitment is encouraging. This was in reference to our football team that took part in the CHAN. Many of the Harambee Stars National Team players did a great job. Were it not for the penalty shootout, team Kenya would have taken the CHAN trophy. I want to encourage young people to exploit their talents. The Government has invested in many stadia across the country. These stadia should be used. Young people should discover their talents early and nurture them. They should take sports as an occupation just like other professions in other areas.

Thank you.

Hon. Keynan.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I want to join Kenyans in commending the great men and women athletes for flying our flag very high in the international arena. Sports play a very important role in promoting tourism and diplomacy and creating national pride. It is high time that we also commended the Government for providing

infrastructural facilities and supporting young sportsmen and women as we have seen in the recent months. Many countries pride themselves in certain unique identities. The Kenyan sportsmen and women have created an international niche in the field of sports for this country and we are, indeed very proud. This is one avenue of creating job opportunities. I want to encourage them to keep on flying our flag very high by performing well. As a leadership, we should provide an enabling environment for the young sportsmen and women. I commend them wherever they are and they should keep up the standards.

Thank you.

Hon. Zamzam.

Asante, Mhe. Spika. Nachukua fursa hii kwa niaba ya wakaazi wa Mombasa kuwapongeza wanariadha wetu wa Kenya ambao walibeba bendera ya Kenya juu sana waliposhiriki katika mashindano ya riadha ya ulimwengu. Kenya ni nchi ndogo ikilinganishwa na mataifa ya madola kubwa yaliyoshiriki katika mashindano hayo. Hata hivyo, wanaariadha wa Kenya walijitahidi kwa ubora wao na kuonyesha uweledi wao katika ulingo wa riadha kwa kutuletea medali tofauti tofauti. Ninawapongeza sana. Imekuwa kama ada kwa wanariadha wetu kuleta ushindi mkubwa nyumbani wanaposhiriki katika michezo hii.

Hata hivyo, ukiwaangalia baada ya michezo hii, wanaishi maisha duni sana. Nina imani Serikali hii ilivyokuja na mabadiliko makubwa, Mheshimiwa Rais atawachukua kwa uzito mkubwa kuhakikisha maisha yao yamekuwa mazuri. Hii ni kwa sababu wameinua bendera ya Kenya juu sana. Nataka haswa kuwapongeza akina dada waliokimbia na kuleta medali nyingi. Akina mama walio katika Bunge hili tuwasherekee hawa kina dada wenzetu ambao wameliinua taifa letu juu na kuifanya sura ya Kenya kuwa juu. Tulishinda Wachina na mataifa mengine mengi. Najivunia kuwa Mkenya na ninawapongeza wanariadha hao kama mama wa Mombasa.

Asante sana.

Hon. Omboko Milelmba.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. As a sports promoter and a sports person, I congratulate the athletes. Their performance was very good.

We were ranked number two but that was one of Kenya's best performances I have ever seen. It surpassed our performance in Budapest the previous year where we only managed to get three gold medals and a few silver medals. I also want to thank the current Government. It is doing serious things about sports facilities. We only had Kasarani, Nyayo and the moribund City stadiums that were done by the late President Moi. Today, we have the Talanta stadium that is coming up alongside other stadia in different regions of this country like Homa Bay and Bungoma counties. This is very good. It is in such facilities that the athletes train in to be great.

The female athletes performed well and I want to really congratulate them. The male athletes must pull up. Most of these athletes are very young people who need support. I happened to meet Serem Edmund when he was walking in the streets of Eldoret. Sportsmen and women need support.

Finally, the Ministry of Education must deliver all the pathways to schools. Under the Competency Based Education System, we need all the schools to have sports pathways so that we can nurture talents.

Thank you.

Hon Masara.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Let me add my voice to the Members who have congratulated our athletics team that was in Tokyo, Japan for their good performance. Fortunately, for the first time in the history of Nyanza we had a lady, Lilian Odira who comes from Suna West Constituency, Suba West Division, Ndonyo Village who won a gold medal. This is a good moment for us. Through her, many young girls and boys will be inspired to run. In Nyanza, we are known to be footballers. However, Lilian Odira has proven that there is no limit. She has done what nobody has ever done in Nyanza. I believe that she is bringing back some of the gold that was taken by our colonists, that once belonged to us. I want to encourage young people. They should not be limited by anything. They can try their potential and they will do the impossible.

I once again congratulate all the athletes who participated in Japan and specifically give Lilian Odira congratulations on behalf of the People of Suna West and Kenyans at large.

Hon. Harold Kipchumba.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I join my colleagues in thanking our athletes. I take this opportunity to wish every athlete well. There are many athletes who are younger than those who represented the country that need support. I thank the Government for supporting sports, particularly athletics.

I want to inform this House that there was the Confederation of East and Central Africa Amputee Football (CECAAF) championship in Bujumbura and Kenya’s amputees football team became the champions. This is a great opportunity of opening up inclusivity as we promote all sports in this country. At this particular time, the broad-based thinking is that every Kenyan can play a role. It was great to see a Luo girl, a Kisii girl, a Luhya boy and a Kalenjin boy all represent the country. It brings all of us together. It is my wish that soon we will have an Abdi from Mandera running. We need to promote every community in Kenya.

Lastly, on behalf of persons with disabilities, I also appeal that the Government put more effort and resources into supporting them. There is a team that is supposed to be going…

Give him a minute.

There is a team of persons with disabilities that is supposed to be going to Nigeria for the African Cup of Nations for badminton. I pray that the Government supports them and bring partners to sponsor them.

Thank you.

Hon. Naomi Waqo.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to congratulate our athletes. As Kenyans, we feel proud of what they did in Tokyo. To be number two worldwide is a great joy for us. The people in the villages today are proud of our athletes. I especially want to congratulate the women for working very hard and collecting seven gold medals. They made every woman in this country proud and we celebrate them. I also congratulate the entire team, both men and women for giving their best.

Our President has given a lot of attention and motivation to sportspeople. As leaders, we also need to congratulate and motivate them so that they can perform well. This has also inspired many other people. In the past, we thought that athletes come from the Rift Valley only. Today, we can see that people from other regions of the country are participating and winning. This makes us proud

Thank you, and we congratulate our team.

Hon. Owen Baya.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I join fellow Members in congratulating our athletes. An investment in sports is an investment in the pride of the nation. Today, we stand tall as a country celebrating the great feat of our athletes and our sportspeople.

Probably, this great achievement that happened in Japan stems from what we did for our footballers during the CHAN. The success in CHAN propelled our athletes to want to do better. I believe that as we move forward as a nation, with the motivation and inspiration from our athletes, we are going to not only succeed on the sports field, but also remain a country that is united, focused, and looking for success in every field.

I pay great accolades to this Government and to the President for standing by athletes in this country. We have seen him, even before this team, bring athletes to State House and motivate them. We saw him motivating the football team, and I also know that when he comes back, he will motivate this team and many other teams.

Hon. Speaker, you need to borrow from the President. The way he did for our national football team. This is probably what you need to do for the Bunge Football Club, so that they can do better. I do not want to go to Uganda and come back without a medal, but you can engineer success by doing a “President Ruto thing” in the House, and we will bring all the trophies to this House.

I thank you.

We will support the winners, not joyriders.

Thank you, Hon. Owen. Hon. Mawathe.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also wish to take this opportunity to congratulate our athletes, especially the ones who won in Tokyo, Japan. That was an excellent showing. We became the world beaters this time round in athletics. Also, on the same weekend, we won the two marathons in Berlin for both men and women. We also want to congratulate them. I also want to congratulate our football team for their great performance in CHAN. We just missed getting to the finals by a small margin and I know we will do better in future. The players who play in the local teams fared very well.

In the same tone, I also wish to bring up the issue of our sports here in Bunge. There is need to better equip and continue to support our athletics team and Bunge FC. We fared very well in the past, but this time around we did not fare very well. This is because of a lack of preparation. To perform better, one must have trained for a few weeks before the actual game. Also, you need to arrive at the site on time. The Ugandans were here seven days before the games started. We need to arrive in Uganda on time and have sufficient friendly matches. We used to travel in the past. We have gone to Turkey...

Yes, Hon. Lillian Siyoi. I wanted to close here.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also stand to congratulate our athletes for the good job they have done and also add something. There is a lot of exploitation done to our athletics. I do not know if it is the agents or those who mentor them. I have realised that they take too much money from them.

I think we can come up with policies to regulate how much money they should charge our athletes. Most of them work very hard, but at the end of the day, even after running too fast and getting a medal or a gift, it ends up in the hands of other people. I suggest that we have policies that can assist and protect our athletes from exploitation.

Hon. Nabuin, Member for Turkana North.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also join my colleagues in congratulating our teams. As, you will realise the lost glory in both football and athletics is back. As a Member of the Departmental Committee on Sports and Culture, and on behalf of my colleagues, we are truly proud of our athletes. One thing that has contributed to the success we are seeing is the motivation the country's leadership is giving to both soccer and athletics. We want to engage the Executive regarding the construction of infrastructure that is taking place in most counties like the sports academies. They should be built in all the counties so that many young people can participate in sports.

Finally, I congratulate Dorcas Ewoi for winning a silver medal. She is the first Turkana young lady to win such a medal. I pray that God gives her strength to win a gold medal in the next championship.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also join my colleagues in paying tribute to our gallant Kenyans who gave this country something that has never been done. Eleven medals and coming second after the United States of America (USA) was no mean achievement. Particularly, I thank the President for motivating sportsmen and women in our country by giving them awards. I also ask him to continue supporting sports.

Secondly, I support my colleagues by recommending creation of sports academies in all counties in the country. I am very sure we can get the best if we have academies in all counties. We will diversify sports for this country to go to 200 metres, 400 metres and other sports.

Thank you. I welcome our Kenyans who went to Tokyo and conquered. We are proud of them.

Hon. Makali Mulu, speak louder.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I also take this opportunity to congratulate team Kenya. It was very nice watching athletes as they conquered the world. I specifically salute our female athletes because they did extremely well.

I was disturbed as I watched the games, more so steeplechase male athletes. This is one of the categories in which we would get all medals. We are no longer there. I think we need to ask ourselves what happened to the category where we used to get all medals—gold, silver and bronze. We got nothing, so we really need to revisit this area to see what happens.

As I conclude on Bunge FC, practice makes perfect. That is why we are not getting it right. People must train to win. Let us train more.

I congratulate the athletes for this good performance. Thank you.

Hon. Polo.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for this opportunity. From the outset, I join my colleagues in congratulating the team that went to Japan. I tell them kudos because they did a good job. I take note that our country is well known all over the world because of sporting activities. I encourage all communities to involve their people.

I was happy this time around because participants came from many tribes. We saw a Turkana and Luo for the first time. This is good because it unites Kenya as one.

I also encourage Bunge to put more emphasis on sports so that we bring more trophies when we compete with other countries. We noticed that our players were not fit enough while we were in Mombasa. This means there is no provision for training. Other countries took a whole week earlier to train and familiarise themselves with the fields. I feel that we need to give more seriousness to sports.

I congratulate all the teams. Thank you.

Hon. Members, the time I allocated is up. We will end here. Hon. Passaris you can solicit a minute to speak. Go ahead.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for this opportunity. I also stand as a proud Kenyan leader to congratulate our team for the good work they did in coming second in the world. Kenya is on the map. It is on everyone’s lips. All over the world, everyone goes to athletic events to see Kenya win. We are the measure of success when it comes to athletics. I believe that we need to stand and thank our Government for taking sports seriously and rewarding footballers. This is good.

Hon. Speaker, I want to talk about sextortion and I brought a Bill about it. I will bring it again because it did not go through in the First Session. There is an article in The People magazine today about sex for sports and positions. It is about exploitation of our players by coaches.

The Government needs to investigate to ensure that coaches do not exploit our sportsmen and women, both young and old. They do not have to exchange sexual favours to make teams. That article was damning. I believe we do not want to taint the name of athletes. None of our teams should be extorted. The sextortion terminology should be a thing of the past.

I congratulate the team. The Government should investigate because no one should exchange their body to make teams in Kenya. We need to deal with this if it is happening. I congratulate them. We are proud of all of you.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you. Hon. Ng’elechei you have one minute. Thereafter, Hon. Liza Chelule and Hon. Kirima will have one minute each.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for this opportunity.

As you well know, Elgeyo Marakwet is the home of champions. Every athlete in Kenya either trains in Elgeyo Marakwet or is born there. Otherwise, you have no chance of winning any medal if you are not born or train there. Hon. Speaker, I give special tribute to the girls who gave us six out of seven gold medals. This tells us that we can achieve anything. If you compare the US which became number one with Kenya, it is like a drop in the ocean yet we took the second place in the whole world.

They did a superb job. I congratulate them and encourage those who did not win the medals that they have a chance and an equal opportunity to do so. We need to encourage the male participants.

Liza Chelule.

Asante sana, Mhe Spika, kwa kunipatia nafasi hii pia nipongeze wanariadha wetu kwa kushindania medali mbalimbali. Kwa niaba ya Kaunti ya Nakuru, napongeza sana wanariadha waliotuwakilisha. Kuna mmoja Faith Chepng’etich ambaye ni mkaazi wa Kuresoi South. Amekuwa akishinda medali mbalimbali. Tunajivunia kama Kaunti ya Nakuru na nchi. Pongezi sana. Nachukua fursa hii pia kumshukuru Rais kwa kuwapa motisha na kujenga viwanja mbalimbali ambavyo watajifunzia. Asante sana.

Hon. Kirima.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to also congratulate our sportsmen and women who participated in the Tokyo World Athletics Championships. I thank them for making this country proud. I also congratulate the President for taking initiative. The leaders before him did not encourage our sportsmen and women like he is doing. There is a myth that sprinting and running are only done in certain parts of the country, and yet, this can be done anywhere with the provision of necessary facilities and people are willing to be trained. I encourage the trainers and the Government to take that initiative to transfer…

Thank you. Hon. Members, we will conclude here. As we end, we must be very proud of ourselves and our country. How many countries have had the opportunity to have their national anthem sung six times in a foreign capital in two weeks?

This is something we must salute. As we salute the success in Tokyo, remember that two Kenyans, a man and a woman, won the Berlin Marathon. Our prowess in athletics is something we should take pride in. At some point, I will discuss with the Departmental Committee on Sports and Culture to see if we can facilitate these heroes and heroines here in Parliament.

More importantly, for the men - the boy child seems to be lost and disappearing. Hon. (Dr) Otiende Amollo what happened to steeplechase? That was our race. When Kenya won a gold medal in the Olympics or World Athletics Championships it was in the steeplechase. Thanks to the young girl, Faith Cherotich we won a gold medal. The men have disappeared. So, women take your space and keep the flag flying for Kenya.

Thank you very much, Hon. Members. Let us go back to Order No. 7.

We only have responses to Statements. Is Hon. Protus Akuja in the House?

Present.

Hon. Raso, do you have the response?

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. Yes, I have the response. The Member of Parliament for Loima Constituency, Hon. Protus Akuja requested to be apprised of the appointment of chiefs and assistant chiefs in his constituency. The Hon. Member particularly sought to be informed on the following:

Hon. Akuja.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. The response from the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration is fairly satisfactory. However, the Cabinet Secretary has attempted to ignore the fact that there is a serious delay in the recruitment of chiefs, especially after the interviews are done. It takes a long time for those appointment letters to reach the appointees. A case in point is the stations that have been mentioned, Lorengippi, Kalemunyang and Naipa where the first interviews were done in 2023. I have been informed that they received the appointment letters two weeks ago, after this request for statement was raised. This indicates that the issuance of appointment letters was delayed until after the concerns were brought to light.

Better late than never. That is done. Is Hon. Ariko in the House?

Present.

Hon. Raso, are you ready?

Yes.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. The Member for Turkana South Constituency, Hon. Ariko Namoit has requested to be apprised of the rising cases of insecurity in Turkana County. The Member particularly sought to be informed on the following cases:

its owner. A case file to that effect, Ref: CR 824/90/2025, was opened to establish the circumstances of this incident. Witnesses have recorded statements, and it was established that the weapon was snatched from the security detail of Mr Philstone Aletia, who then passed it over to Mr Christopher Ereng, alias Robert Lochokot. Both individuals were placed under investigation in connection with the incident. The file was later forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) on 14th July 2025 for perusal and advice. The case is pending an investigation and awaiting directions from the ODPP.

On the abduction incident report and an organised group disrupting public gatherings, on 30th April 2024 at 0524 hours, Ms Elizabeth Eyanae, a resident of Kanamkemer village, reported at Lokichogio Police Station vide OB No.3/3/04/2024, that Mr Sammy Esinyen Ekitela, the Turkana South Constituency Manager had been abducted by unknown persons at Cherinas hotel. Police officers visited and documented the scene, collecting all items of evidential value. Investigation commenced and preliminary findings reveal that the alleged abduction was in fact, a self-abduction incident. The victim was traced to his hideout, where he was hiding to evade arrest in connection with an offence of assault, reported vide OB No. 96/29/4/2024 by Mr Nimrod Ekamas Lomorukai as the complainant. The statements were recorded in relation to the disruption of public gatherings and an assault case. Eight individuals were arrested and presented before the Eldoret Law Court where the case is pending. They were charged with the offence of assault - causing bodily harm, contrary to Section 251 of the Penal Code. The case is pending before the court.

The third issue that the Hon. Member sought is the illegal roadblocks in Lodwar Town. On 4th August 2025, the Governor of Turkana County, Hon. Jeremiah Lomurkai was informed that aliens were being ferried along the Kakuma-Nairobi Road. At 2305 hours, he proceeded to the County Council Cess Collection Point, where he intercepted a motor vehicle registration number KDU 367E suspected of transporting aliens.

The Governor immediately alerted the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Lodwar Police Station, who detained the bus and its passengers and escorted them to Lodwar Police Station. The Director of Refugee Services was notified and in liaison with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the refugees were presented before court on 5th August 2025 vide PCR Case 123/2025 and charged with the offence of leaving a designated area without permission, contrary to Section 31(2) as read with Section 41(2) of the Refugee Act.

Below are the specific measures being taken by the Ministry of Interior and National Administration to curb the rise of hired persons disrupting public gatherings:

continues to sensitise members of the public on the provisions

Hon. Speaker, I beg to respond.

Yes, Hon. Ariko.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. The Vice- Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security has attempted to present what the Ministry gave to them. However, the Lokichogio incident, specifically in Lopiding was ocasioned by the ferried goons from Lodwar led by the culprit.

The Statement by the Ministry really contradicts this. First of all, they talked about Mr Christopher Ereng having picked up the firearm which was lying on the ground. After the investigation they revealed the truth of the matter, that the person who took the gun is called Mr Aletia, who handed it over to Mr Christopher Ereng. They took the gun to Kakuma Town. The Governor called the person in charge of the General Service Unit (GSU) Lokichogio and they presented the gun to that officer, who later took the gun to the OCS, Lokichogio.

My question is, how long does it take for justice to be given to those who have suffered from the acts of these goons? Justice delayed is justice denied. It has now taken over two months and the matter is still under investigation, yet it is a straightforward. The persons involved are known but I normally wonder why it is taking this long. There are too many cases pending under the DCI and they have brought a lot of issues in Turkana County. One person is taking charge of security in Turkana and that is the Governor of Turkana County.

Secondly, there is the issue of abduction which is defined by Section 256 of the Penal Code as the forceful removal of a person from one point to another. This was explained very well by the eyewitnesses and not the hearsay from the Governor. I do not want to go into detail because the matter is still in court. I spent three days in prison due to this matter. I was in Nairobi when the incident took place in Turkana and not in Lokichogio as purported by the Ministry. There are eyewitnesses and I do not want to go into detail. Thirdly…

You are supposed to seek clarification on the Statement as given. You are now making a speech

Hon. Speaker, I am trying to highlight the misinformation issued by the Ministry.

Lastly, the Governor of Turkana County has become the traffic commander. How can a governor go to the extent of inspecting a roadblock? The incidents that took place are in the media. The police officers and the DCI were beaten by the goons who were ferried by the Governor. This matter is in the media. They cannot lie to us. The Governor said that he does not want to deal with any security agencies other than the OCS. He has him in his pocket.

We need justice. The people of Turkana County…

On a point of order.

Yes, Hon. Benjamin. What is your point of order? Give Hon. Benjamin Lang’at the microphone.

Hon. Speaker, Mheshimiwa is my friend. However, according to the Standing Orders, one cannot discuss the character of a person without a substantive motion.

Who has he discussed?

He has discussed the Governor of his County.

You are out of order. He just mentioned him. He did not discuss him.

Chair, I do not know…

Which Chair?

I am sorry, Hon. Speaker.

Go on.

I do not know how the people of Turkana will be rescued. Several incidents have taken place and the security agencies have no teeth to bite. Only one person has the power and he is known. If this continues, the people of Turkana will take things into their own hands and protect themselves.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Raso did you hear that goons attacked the police?

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I am the patron of the Pastoralist Parliamentary Group (PPG) . I come from the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) . The Hon. Member is in order to raise the complaints he has. The Ministry has attempted to respond appropriately but there are some things heavily laced with local politics. As the Vice-Chairman of this Committee we want to establish…

Hon. Benja you appear to know Turkana more than Kericho. Go on Hon. Raso.

Hon. Speaker, the Member said on the Floor of the House that the police do not have teeth to bite. I think the police are neutral agents in enforcing the law. None of us, even the Speaker or the President is above the law. If there are lawbreakers walking in Turkana, we will ask the Inspector-General to respond appropriately.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you. Next is Hon. Weytan. Yes, Member for Turkana North, Hon. Nabuin.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I want to add my voice to the Statement by Hon. (Dr) Ariko, as a person of interest in Turkana and a leader in that county. From face value, the concerns brought out by Hon. Ariko might look like local politics, but the security situation in Turkana is not good for leaders and Kenyans who express dissatisfaction with the leadership of the county. We have had many incidents. You can imagine an abduction case where the victim becomes the perpetrator. The victim is made to spend time in prison for almost 14 days. These things happen and it worries people in Turkana because they know the truth. What comes out of investigations and the actions of security operators is really worrying. Of course, there is politics at play but what Hon. Ariko has brought forward to this House must be looked into keenly.

If you look at the case during the burial in Lokichogio it is clear from the report by the Chairman of the Committee that it is untrue that a government firearm is said to have been picked from the ground. From the reports provided, we are told that the firearm was collected from the ground.

If you want to controvert what he said, do so with alternative facts so that he can be called to respond.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. The truth is that goons were ferried from Lodwar and this is what happens. Every time the Governor moves from Lodwar to another area there are three vehicles full of goons. They are not meant to provide security but to disrupt activities which are contrary to what he expects.

Thank you. Hon. Raso you have heard all those allegations. You can investigate and invite the Members to your Committee to discuss the matter further.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. We are well guided.

Is Hon. Weytan in the House? Hon. Weytan, there is a response to a request for Statement about the management of Hajj programmes. I have been requested by Hon. Bashir that consultations and discussions are still going on, and we put off the matter to next week. So, the matter is stayed up to Wednesday afternoon next week. Hopefully, you will have finalised what you are doing.

Hon. Joyce Bensuda. Where is Hon. Bensuda? Yes, Hon. Eve Obara. You are not Hon. Joyce Bensuda by any chance, are you?

No, I am the Vice-Chairlady of the Departmental Committee on Education.

Are you ready to respond?

Yes.

Hon. Bensuda is not here.

Hon. Bensuda was here. I have tried to reach her.

If Hon. Bensuda is taking tea, it means she is not interested in prosecuting her request. So, we will stay it to next week.

Yes, Hon. Wangari. Is it on the same issue?

Hon. Speaker, it is on education.

Let me finish with this matter first. Hon. Eve Obara, hold your response to tomorrow afternoon. This is subject to Hon. Bensuda giving an appropriate and acceptable apology. She was here and just walked out. To other Members, if you have business in the Order Paper, try to be here to prosecute it so that we do not pile unnecessary business for later days.

Hon. Wangari.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for indulging me. Allow me to raise a matter which I think may not wait for the normal Statement route. The matter of capitation in schools. During the recess, we interacted with many school administrators. I can tell you, schools are suffering. Even buying chalk or a pen is almost becoming impossible. The explanation the Ministry has been giving through the media does not hold water. They say they are verifying student registration. This verification should have been done during the holidays when children were at home.

This term is very short. In fact, students should be closing by 22nd October. There are three evaluations and examinations: the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) evaluation for Grade 3, the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) for Grade 6 and Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) for Grade 9. How are schools supposed to prepare for these examinations?

The Departmental Committee on Education and the Ministry of Education should give a way forward. If a head of institution gave a wrong number of students, can the money be deducted from next term? We cannot afford to hold schools in abeyance. They do not know what to do this term. You may give direction to the Committee.

Hon. Owen Baya where is your Committee Chairman? Yes, Hon. KJ.

Before we get a response from the leadership, you might also want to send business regarding university education, together with the matter that Hon. Martha has raised to the Departmental Committee on Education. As we speak, students reporting to university had to go back home. They are sitting in abeyance. They are not sure whether the lecturers’ strike is being resolved or attended to. As you give direction, kindly direct the Committee to look into the matters of learners in university and higher institutions of education. It should not look like it is purely a failure on the new funding model, which it is not. It is a whole other issue that needs to be resolved.

I thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Eve Obara can you bring a response to this on Thursday afternoon?

Yes, Hon. Speaker. This is a matter that has come to our attention. I want to commit that by Tuesday, next week we should be able to give a comprehensive statement on the same.

Thank you. Tuesday it is. Next Order.

Hon. Peter Kaluma.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I beg to move that The Kenya Roads (Amendment) (No.3) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.34 of 2025) be now read a Second Time.

This Bill, though appearing in my name, is brought on behalf of the Legislative Caucus which you constituted to help the House with directions on legal and litigation matters that involve Parliament. The team you constituted is convened by Hon. (Dr) Otiende Amollo, Senior Counsel, and Hon. Samwel Chepkonga, also Counsel. The team brings together all learned Members of Parliament. I emphasise ‘learned friends,’ who are willing, on a pro bono basis, to intervene as and when the Speaker requires.

I would like to thank the Speaker for opening up the Caucus to every person of good legal mind willing to join. I have not seen Hon. Caroli Omondi. He is one of our best brains. I hope he will be notified, now that he is aware of the existence of the Legislative Caucus, to get involved in matters which the Speaker constituted it for, so that Parliament can benefit from his good brain.

On a point of order, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

What is your point of order, Hon. Owen?

Hon. Kaluma is my senior in many ways, but when he says ‘a few learned Members of Parliament’, he needs to qualify it to say ‘learned friends’ because that is how lawyers call themselves. There are many other learned professors here. Therefore, he needs to qualify ‘learned Legislators’. And when he also says ‘best brains’, he needs to qualify it as ‘best brains in law’ because there are other ‘best brains.’ He needs to put the words into perspective so that he does not sound condescending.

We have heard you. Hon. Kaluma, are you so guided?

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. The interruption has given me the opportunity to consult the Clerks-at-the-Table, who were concerned that I may not have moved the Bill for Second Reading. I did.

Yes, you moved.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, for the avoidance of doubt, let me just reiterate that I beg to move that The Kenya Roads (Amendment) (No.3) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.34 of 2025) be now read a Second Time.

Hon. Owen Baya intervened when I was thanking the Legislative Caucus for permitting me to move this important Bill on their behalf. I would like Hon. (Dr) Otiende Amollo, Senior Counsel, to return my compliments to the Legislative Caucus, for I am doing this on their behalf.

It has also been the view of the Speaker that matters which can be resolved by the leadership of the nation be resolved without recourse to litigation. So, I would like to thank the Speaker for appointing me to, separately, lead a team which included the Whip of the Majority Party, Hon. Sylvanus Osoro; Hon. Marianne Kitany; the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, Hon. George Kariuki; Hon. Naisula Lesuuda among other Members to engage the Council of Governors (CoG) in negotiating this matter of the Road Maintenance Fuel Levy Fund. I would like to report that we did all that we could to bring together governors and Members of Parliament to resolve this issue out of court. I thank that team which the Speaker constituted to work with me in that endeavour.

Before I go into the meat of the matter, permit me to thank CoG, under the leadership of Dr FCPA Abdullahi Ahmed. We had several meetings and it was clear from their attitude and ours that it was very pleasant and commendable to discuss this important matter away from the courts.

Having said all that, let me also thank the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, Hon. George Kariuki, and the Membership of that Committee, for joining us in those endeavours and meetings to resolve these matters which ultimately we agreed required the intervention of this Parliament. I say Parliament to include the National Assembly and the Senate.

I also thank the Committee for putting aside every work they were doing to undertake constitutional requirements under Article 118 of the Constitution regarding public participation. They conducted a detailed and expeditious public participation. This was necessary because of the urgency of this matter. I have read their report, and I believe that Members, because of the importance of this matter, have also read it and benefited a great deal from the suggestions they are making, not only in supporting this important Bill around the maintenance of roads across the country but also the improvements they are suggesting. At the right time, we will listen to the thoughts they are proposing and agree with them.

Despite all those efforts, a judgment was ultimately delivered by the High Court of Kenya in Petition 423 of 2024. That judgment faulted the two Acts we are seeking to amend through this Bill. The judgment largely focuses on two things. That the two laws we are seeking to amend currently, although they deal with matters of Road Maintenance Fuel Levy Fund, which should be used to maintain all roads across the country, they do not include counties as beneficiaries of the funds for maintenance of county roads.

The Honourable Court says that Section 47 of the Kenya Roads Act is unconstitutional because it runs afoul of the principle of devolution, which is a national value under Article 10 of the Constitution. We dedicated a whole Chapter in the Constitution to ensure equitable development. The court also said that the classification of the roads, to the extent that it did not accord with the principles of devolution, is improper, unconstitutional and null and void. The court concluded that Sections 6 and 47 of the provisions of the substantive laws we seek to amend by this Law, are unconstitutional; and therefore, null and void. Most importantly, in the case I have cited, the court gave four substantive orders. We have to thank the court because the parties who took the National Assembly, Senate and other road agencies to court sought 13 orders, including for costs, but essentially 12 very substantive orders.

The court made order (d), which I draw the attention of Members to. Having found that those provisions were inconsistent with the Constitution, and therefore null and void, the court declared there shall be no allocation of funds from the Road Maintenance Fuel Levy Fund (RMLF). However, that does not include counties. So, disbursement of monies must include counties, because as I have said, devolution is not just a National Value and Principle of Governance, but it is also an important matter ensuring equity that we have dedicated a whole chapter of the Constitution to. That is where we are.

Hon. Speaker, as expected, this matter was taken to the Court of Appeal by the National Assembly Legislative Caucus when it was remitted to them by your office for intervention. There is an appeal, Civil Appeal E427 of 2025 in which we contest, on behalf of the National Assembly and aggrieved Kenyans, the declarations of the court. Within that appeal, we seek orders of a conservatory nature from the court, suspending the operation of the judgement until the appeal is heard on its merits and determined. I report to the House, and it is already known, that application, which was presented to the Court of Appeal for orders suspending the judgement was allowed. I thank the Court of Appeal for that. It was so allowed in public interest.

The sections we seek to amend and which have been the subject matter of those litigations, if the judgement was not suspended, the provisions were going to derail and undermine completely the operations of the road agencies we established under these statutes. They were going to secure that even if legislative interventions were made, as we are seeking to do now, no road was going to be maintained in that intervening period. I thank them.

However, I emphasise that even though the Court of Appeal gave that order of stay of enforcement of the judgement in terms of all those substantive orders, the order of stay was only given for a period of 12 months beginning July when it was issued. That means that if the appeal is not heard and a favourable determination made by July next year, the bad situation for which the stay was sought and given by the Court of Appeal was not given. I have absolute confidence in the success of the appeal filed by the National Assembly and the aggrieved road agencies that is pending before the Court of Appeal. I have no doubt in my mind, even as I move consideration of this Bill by the House, that there is a very high probability that the appeal must succeed.

There is a good reason as to why we are favoured to be in leadership position at this point in time. There is also a good reason as to why Kenyans chose us out of the 55 million Kenyans in the country to be in this Arm of Government whose core mandate is to legislate. I confirm that this Bill is brought not to concede that the appeal will not succeed, but as a pointer of leadership confirmed by those previous meetings we have had even with the members of the Council of Governors under the leadership of Hon. Ahmed Abdullahi and, of course, other meetings and interrogations to do what is right in public interest for Kenyans in spite of what other processes could be there.

That, therefore, brings me to the substance of this Bill. It is a very short Bill. We are effecting amendments to a number of provisions in the Kenya Roads Act and Kenya Roads Board Act. Clause 2 of this Bill, I know all Members have looked at it because of its importance, seeks to amend the current Section 2 of the Kenya Roads Act, which appears to date to be only speaking to national roads. I understand that is so because the law was enacted well before the current Constitution. Therefore, it needs to be cleaned up.

If we look at the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, the categories of roads in the country are national trunk and county. We are making it clear that for these laws to be in conformity with the Constitution, they cannot be restricted just to national roads as is the case now, but must now have a category of national trunk roads falling within the remit of national Government roads to be maintained by national Government and counties.

Clause 3 of the Bill deals with matter of classification. This is the substantive amendment to the contested current Section 47 of the Act. We are clearing that in line with the judgement and to the extent agreed by the House of Parliament. The new roads classification will accord with the First Schedule of this Bill so that we can carry the entire country aboard.

In the First Schedule, there are various categories which have been existing in the law we seek to amend and the proposed new categories. We propose Category AS, and Category A and B to fall under national Government. The description is there. I have looked at the Report of the Departmental Committee in charge of the subject matter and I have noted they propose

the crunching together of AS and A into one road category. It will be considered by the House at that point in time.

At the level of national Government, we also have roads that fall within cities and urban areas or leading into critical facilities within urban centres. It appears under the First Schedule, page 788, as category A2 for urban roads. Again, they are categorised as AU to signify them being within urban jurisdiction together with Category BU and CU.

In terms of rural roads falling within the mandate of the national Government for maintenance at page 789 of the Bill, there is category C which has not been amended much and currently, what is in existence. I want to alert you on a new category I am proposing on behalf of the legislative caucus; category SP that is Special Purpose Roads, and category SR that is Security Roads. The Special Purpose Roads are described as roads providing direct access to places of specific national, social, or economic importance. Including industrial and commercial areas and government institutions, such as schools, prisons, government housing, and other such national Government facilities that fall within the remit of national Government. Even hostels if they were to be national Government referral facilities. I confirm that this is a very important category that we are introducing. We have had cases where if we go with the existent classification, then very many schools, especially schools in rural areas, would not have access roads. We also have roads which are classified under the current classification. For example, there may be a school between a national Government road and a county government road. Worse still, you may have a situation where a river is cutting between those two roads. We should create a category that can allow the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) to construct things like box culverts, culverts or what we call bridges in common parlance, to connect those schools and make them accessible. Otherwise, we will have a situation where those national Government facilities not falling within the remit of clear road networks classification in the country currently are not accessible.

The Cabinet Secretary in charge of the National Treasury and Economic Planning told us that since Independence, the national Government has never constructed a box culvert or a bridge across River Tana. They have only started the construction 63 years later. The children of that area; the children of Kenya, have been crossing that river which we know is highly infested with crocodiles. They have been risking their lives just to get education for 63 years. If funds were to be available, such a road would be done even if it is not linked directly to a national Government road or a road falling within the remit of the county. This would ensure the people of Kenya can access those critical facilities wherever they are.

We are leaving the determination of security roads to the ministry that will be in charge of internal security. I have been in that Committee for a long time and the last time I visited Laikipia, I saw this big forest where cattle rustlers take animals to. It is called Mukogodo Forest. Once the animals are inside, you will be told that even police cannot dare enter that forest. The rustlers will do whatever they want with them. In our assessment, that is a road that would easily fall under the category of a security road. The funds would be used to create a road through the forest.

The main reason we have Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in North Eastern Kenya, is because these terrorists normally dig up just the marram areas and plant the explosives there. We all know the cost of that as a nation, where even when our security personnel are moving around that area, they are all overturned and killed instantly. Under this category, places like North Eastern, Boni Forest, and areas along the Indian Ocean which are problematic with these people, can be done for better security; beyond the other categories which fall within national Government and the counties.

We have the case of Shakahola. We visited Shakahola where the tragedies and the atrocities being committed against Kenyans started. It is very vast. Let me be on record that if we just did some security roads across that vast and thorny area, those cases would not be there.

But currently, the area is very vast, large, and big, with those thorny trees we have been struggling to eradicate. It is very vast that once you push people in, you cannot hear what is happening while in there. No wonder, we are dealing with radical and violent extremism even with integration of religion. We have people in court yet the issue is continuing.

Hon. Members, you have heard people asking where the neighbours were when all those Kenyans were being killed. I can tell you that the numbers you hear may not be the actual number of Kenyans who have been killed and have decomposed there. Such places need security roads because it becomes a security necessity for purposes of intervention.

Though all the classifications in terms of the county roads are DE, we have included DU where U means urban, and EU is for roads falling within the current D and E under the remit of the counties, but falling within urban areas like Homa Bay Town and other cities. This will ensure that we do not only have the national Government or the county doing roads without also considering urban areas. I think this is a very good category because in a case of Nairobi, you will be giving money to Nairobi County under the systems we established, but you will end up with the danger of the governor telling you that they are not doing murram roads. In which case, these monies may not end up into the direct use. Subject to such improvements as the Members and the Committee will recommend, and those the House may agree and resolve, I highly commend that categorisation.

We have introduced Clause 47A in which we are placing specific responsibilities to the counties. Unlike the Equalisation Fund and other funds, we will not just send money to the counties and they do nothing about it. Therefore, a number of proposals are being made under Clause 47A to clarify what responsibilities the county governments will have and shoulder for maintenance, rehabilitation, and development of county roads within the prescribed national standards and policies. This is critical. We had cases being reported from some counties – and I am happy Homa Bay is not among them – where the Constituency Roads Committee (CRC) under KeRRA does a road, but instead of a county doing roads with the funds it receives, the county just employs people who take notes of what roads are being done. You saw those processes in the Senate where, a road is being done by the CRC under KeRRA at around Ksh5 million, but when you look at records, you see that a county also spent Ksh50 million on the same road. That is nearly 10 times what KeRRA spent without doing anything. I can tell you that this does not happen in Homa Bay which is the best county currently. It is top class county under a female governor who is the best in this country currently.

You can proceed. Give him more time.

I need more time because I was just getting to the meat of the matter, but I will be brief. Give me only five minutes, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

We want signages so that it is clear whether a road belongs to the county governments, national Government, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) , Kenya Urban Roads

Authority (KURA) or KeRRA. We will then avoid corruption and want of accountability over road matters.

Lastly, Members who have looked at the Bill will note the issue of increasing allocations to the counties. We have to re-organise the sharing out of the RMLF. Therefore, the Bill proposes that counties will get five per cent of the total amount of funds collected under the RMLF. Since we have created that new category of sharing, the existing categories must be reduced. Counties will get a 5 per cent allocation. We are reducing the allocation to KeNHA from 40 per cent to 36 per cent to accommodate that share to the counties. We are also reducing the allocation to KURA from 15 percent to 14 per cent, and the allocation to KeRRA from 32 per cent to 31 per cent to accommodate the additional allocation to the counties.

I know that some people will ask why we are allocating five per cent of the RMLF to the counties. This is not an equitable share. Counties will still receive an equitable share, a portion of which will be going to the roads. This is money from the collection of fuel levies for the maintenance of roads based on their classifications per county. In consultation with the relevant ministry, we have confirmed that as per the current classification, the five per cent allocation to the counties would ensure that the roads that fall under their purview are maintained, and are in a good state for all Kenyans. That critical provision deals with Section 6 of the Kenya Roads Act, and I urge the Members to accommodate it.

Without much ado, I want to thank the Members for according me the opportunity to present this matter on their behalf. I know that I have given enough details. I want to thank you for the support you have given Parliament in consideration of this legislative proposal.

I beg to move and request Senior Counsel Hon. (Dr) Otiende Amollo to second. Thank you, Hon. Depuy Speaker.

Proceed, Hon. Amollo

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to second The Kenya Roads (Amendment) (No.3) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.34 of 2025) .

Hon. Owen Baya raised an issue, but he did not get the benefit of a response. Wherever he is, he has to know that there is a distinction between the terms “learned” and “educated”. Even if you become a professor of everything, you can only be educated. You will not benefit from being called “a learned friend”. Hon Owen Baya is educated and he is my friend. Therefore, he is my educated friend, but not my learned friend.

In fact, in the English tradition, the term “learned friend” was reserved for peers. It would be used by one barrister to another. When a barrister was referring to a solicitor, he would say, “my friend” and not, “my learned friend”. You must get the history of why lawyers are called “learned” before you start questioning it. However, I do not have time to go into it. Suffice it to say, Hon. Owen Baya, you are my educated friend. When we go for tea, I will explain at length why you cannot be my learned friend.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, very briefly, this Bill transcends two Committees and a caucus. It transcends the Departmental Committees on Justice and Legal Affairs; and Transport and Infrastructure. However, we found it wise for the caucus to adopt it because we have the benefit of dealing with those committees and beyond. As Hon. Kaluma has explained, the Bill is a result of consensus and consultation by the Executive, Parliament, various roads agencies, governors and everyone who cared to listen. Even the President was involved in this discussion.

The Bill is necessary because it has to fill the lacuna that was created by the decision of the court when it declared two significant sections of the relevant law unconstitutional. Although we successfully appealed the decision, it was still important to address the issue beyond peradventure. Therefore, it comes in to fill the lacuna that arose out of the declaration of Sections 6 and 47 as unconstitutional.

At this stage, I will explain two things. First, contrary to popular belief, the monies allocated to KeRRA, both under the original provisions and in this Bill, are not put in the hands of Members of Parliament. Those monies are administered by a national entity called KeRRA. KeRRA has regional managers in each constituency and a committee on which the Member of Parliament does not sit. The limited role of the Member of Parliament is like that of any other elected leader because the Member of Parliament has a landscape view of the roads in the constituency. So, he or she is able to suggest that they balance out the allocations between the wards, or that certain roads are worse than others. That role is called representation.

Second, these funds are not allocated towards devolution but are appropriated for the national Government. As such, when they come back to the wards, constituencies or counties, they are used as decentralised and not devolved funds. Therefore, those who argue that we should abandon this endeavour because of devolution are missing the point. This is not money meant for devolution. It is meant for the national Government but because the Constitution requires access to all services and decentralisation, they are then decentralised in that manner.

I hasten to add that when the judgement was rendered and the provisions were to lapse on 21st June before the end of the last Financial Year, it took the intervention of the President in consultation with Parliament, the agencies and governors, to agree on some form of allocation. I believe that they agreed on a 35 per cent allocation but there was a balance of 30 per cent, which, on behalf of the Members of Parliament, I will be requesting that it be released pronto as it has not been released to date. It ought to be released immediately. It is important to understand that the classification is not at random. It is done by the Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport on a scientific basis, which is also outlined. The classification is carried out every five years in the event that a road has either mutated to a better or worse one. Every five years, the Cabinet Secretary is required to do that. In doing so, it is expected that any road being worked on must have signage, as Hon. Kaluma had said. The signage is not just to indicate that the work is done by the county, KeRRA or KURA. Three things are important:

Hon. Deputy Speaker, anyone who wants to understand the essence and the crux of this amendment should go to Page 790 to Section 6 and you will see how it is all done. For the interest of Members of Parliament, what was allocated in terms of KeRRA at 22 per cent has only reduced by 1 to 21 per cent. Given that we must accommodate a new category of money now being sent to counties under this Act, all the other categories were equally reduced. It is not unique to KeRRA for the benefit of Members of Parliament. The 22 per cent is reduced to 21, and 40 per cent comes to 36, 15 per cent comes to 14, the parks get one per cent, overall administration 1.5 per cent, and the counties, 5 per cent.

This is a negotiated document. As with all negotiations, there are those who will come and disown it later. They will say that they want more or that they were not given time. In

negotiations, you can never get everything that you want. I want to assure the governors that the amount allocated here in percentage is not necessarily a right. It is out of respect for the decision of the court, which we could have chosen to contest, and we did. However, we saw no point in having endless contests and it was, therefore, decided that we accommodate the counties even within the national Government share of revenue as proposed.

I second.

Hon. TJ. Hon. John Kiarie has also pressed the intervention button and therefore, he can go next. If you want to contribute, please, press the intervention button.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am a Member of the Departmental Committee on Roads and Infrastructure. I have heard my learned friends, Hon. Peter Kaluma and the Member for Rarieda, explain that this Bill is a reflection of the Caucus of which I am a Member. I prefer to treat it like every other Private Member's Bill. I say so because I want respect for committees. Matters under the Standing Orders and the Constitution that concern roads are supposed to be dealt with by that Committee, but every other Member is free to bring legislation. If we create a precedent of some caucus taking mandate over issues in this House, then we will confuse ourselves. However, this is before us properly as any other Member's Private Bill, and I will contribute to it.

I thank Member for Homa Bay Town for bringing this amendment. It will provide clarity in the maintenance, rehabilitation and development of roadwork in this country. It will give effect to the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. In this Bill, it is obvious that these roads run through counties and it is by misadventure that the Roads Act was fashioned in a way that excluded the counties. It is not rocket science that these roads pass through counties, and so it is obvious that they should be involved. When Justice Mugambi made that decision, he was right to term it unconstitutional as it overstepped the mandate of the counties.

We are here trying to create legislation that conforms to the Constitution and respects the principle of devolution, which is an important architecture of this Constitution. This Bill has given us an opportunity to reflect on different principles. I will explain only five principles or so before I sit down. One, we have had to strike a balance between the counties and the national Government. We have proposed a consultative procedure by which the classification may be done by the national Government in consultation with the county governments.

Two, it has allowed us to see what happens when monies are sent to the counties. Hon. Peter Kaluma was just shy to explain, but I think he tried very hard to hide it. There are counties that receive money and instead of applying it to specific issues, they divert it to other uses. In this Bill, we have reflected and put in place something that looks like a conditional grant. If you receive money, you must use it for roads. You cannot use it for something else. We want to encourage counties to build roads. We want to see roads in our counties. We even want to see a kilometre of road in the name of a county; I have never seen any of those. So, if you get this money, you must use it on roads. We have reflected that you must meet certain conditions to receive the money. You have to open an account and the money is deposited there.

I am sorry, Hon. Deputy Speaker. This belongs to the senior Member for Homa Bay Town. I disclaim the ownership of that noise. They must open an account and the money is deposited there. If you do not open the account, the Comptroller of Budget and The National Treasury will not allow you to access that money. I think that is also in this Bill. We also have

to see how to balance clarity among institutions. One of the things that we have asked the Cabinet Secretary to do is create a criterion for this proverbial thing called 10 per cent. They get it all the time, but you know it is a freebie. They use it as they wish and do not account for it. They do not account for it and so in this Legislation we have demanded that there must be an empirical parameter, a criteria by which this money is given. One of those, although is a discretionary issue, but that must be exercised in terms of maintaining the overall roads equity. Roads’ equity means that in Dagoretti North for example, if you go there and you find dilapidated roads you want to balance across Nairobi and see that even though Dagoretti North received so much money but in terms of road equity, you then balance it to be having some kind of network which is uniform in Nairobi.

On issues of emergency, if something happens as a matter of an act of God, we do not want a Cabinet Secretary to run there and start lamenting. He must have some money in his hands to be able to fix that problem and primary oversee these agencies and so forth.

The last principle which we have seen and I do not want to go into this percentage because it will be open to Members some of whom are more qualified in mathematics than I am. I just want to talk around issues of principle. The last one is city roads. Everybody here thinks about rural roads, which is beautiful. Rural roads must exist. However, you knew that if you live in Nairobi as all of you do, once you have stepped out of the Express Highway, you must reach your home. Who thought that you will fly or you will crawl into your house without going through a road? That road is not under KURA neither is it under KeNHA and yet that road must exist. If you leave it for the county government, for five years I have lived in Nairobi, I have never seen an inch of that road. So, how do you want to live in your palatial home in Karen, Runda or wherever you are? A lot of thought went into Hon. Kaluma's Bill but only concentrated in the rural roads, the highways and all those beautiful things. But now, in the Committee, we have thought through it and we have said that in cities, there will be a last connectivity if the roads are coming from the highways to the arterials within the estates and residential areas. So that therefore, ring fences some of those roads that are giving you the connectivity into some of your homes and in some of your supermarkets that you would want to be. I thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker because this is coming at the right time. I would have thought that this House should be full because this is an issue which concerns each one of us, but I really thank you for giving us an opportunity to deliberate on this matter and I support this Bill.

Thank you very much.

Hon. KJ then we will come to you, Member for Chuka/ Igambangómbe Constituency.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I thank you profusely for giving me this chance to debate an important piece of legislative proposal as has been presented by Hon. Kaluma. I must thank him for moving such a good Bill.

I must also thank Hon. Otiende Amollo for unpacking it. But more importantly, I must thank Wakili TJ Kajwang’ for bringing it home and defining it according to the principles that are going into this Bill as opposed to the detail of the monies and the math of how it is going to be split, because that is neither here nor there. We are here because of the principles behind the matters that have got us to this place. I must also thank Hon. Kaluma for assuring us that whatever is happening in the courts has its place.

However, Hon. Deputy Speaker, this matter belongs to Parliament. Parliament is not supposed to be a House of lamentation. This is where we make laws and if there is an issue that is affecting the people that we represent, then let us bring it to the to the House, let us canvas it, let us debate it and pass it as should be. So, I am glad that this is finally before us after such a long season of lamentation and especially, that which was occasioned by the issues around RMLF and our contest between Parliament and the governors. This Bill as I am seeing

it, is seeking to primarily, first, align the whole road sector with our new Constitution. Some of these laws are coming after the Constitution has been passed, but they are not aligned to the new Constitution. One of the things that we are seeking to do is to, first, align this to the new Constitution so that it speaks to new realities of the new Constitution, the counties and devolution.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, another main issue that makes me want to support this is the classification and the attempt at classification of our roads. What has been happening is even criminal. There are instances where we have seen county executives going to look out for roads that have been done by KeRRA, roads that have been done by KURA and they go and erect sign boards claiming to have done these roads. That is a criminal offence, they know it too well, that there might not be anyone coming after them to check whether that road was done by the county or whether it was done using national Government resources. I want to add weight to what the Hon. TJ. Kajwang’ said, that we who are representing people in urban areas and city counties, find ourselves so disenfranchised because when arrangements are being made for resource allocation, people assume that cities are already resourced for. But Hon. TJ. Kajwang’ can tell you for a fact that some of the better roads that have been done in Nairobi City County have actually been done by Kenya Rural Roads Authority.

In Constituencies like Dagoretti South Constituency, some of us came to the city in 1969; Dagoretti South as a Constituency was brought into the city precincts in 1969. Previously, Dagoretti had been in Kiambu. What happens, is that then constituencies like Dagoretti South, being brought into the city so late in the day, have to play catch-up to bring city infrastructure into being, key among them, roads. But in the recent past, what we have seen is that even as we are depending on Government to bring us up to speed with the city status, we realise that we suffer a unique problem because in a place like Nairobi City County, we rarely get to see the county making any roads. In fact, Hon. Deputy Speaker, the biggest job that the county does is to destroy the roads that are already done. For example, as we speak now, I am a jittery person because a road that was done recently by Kenya Rural Roads Authority, Wanye Close, has been excavated today by City County so that they can do whatever they want to do; it could be a service line, electricity or connectivity to Wi-Fi, but I think this one is an issue to do with sewerage. Every time the county destroys the road when putting these facilities, they rarely come back to repair the road. In fact, I am saying it from the Floor of the House here today, that we are putting Nairobi City County, on notice each time you destroy these roads, please come back and repair them to the status that you found them in. This is because as it stands now, all we know the county for, is destruction of roads that are already done and never bringing them back to the status that they require.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I also support this Bill because we are now addressing the core issue of allocations. We are not only stipulating the allocations but also, seeking to find out where the 10 per cent that is always kept by the implementer goes to. This conversation is now up in the air. Nobody knows how this 10 per cent is administered, who benefits from it and in which manner. We shall look into the allocations and examine how these funds are used.

I support the Bill, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Finally, I support this Bill because the format it is being presented seeks to ring fence the monies that go to counties. When we divide the revenue in this House and the money goes to the executives in the counties, they are rarely accountable to the House. The excuse is normally that they should be superintended by county assemblies. These are national resources that we allocate. This is not own-source revenue from the counties. They are not working hard enough to create their revenue. However, they are very quick to come to the table for the division of the cake of the national revenues which have been collected. The fact that we shall ring fence roads' money within the county budgets, is reason enough to support this Bill.

Finally, the push and pull between ourselves and the county executives is unnecessary. What this Parliament has been able to do, even in the absence of good frameworks like the ones we are putting up today, on RMLF has to be celebrated. I know you are a proponent of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). When we were campaigning, one of the things that we talked about was how we would make Kenya a saving nation. This Parliament agreed that a certain percentage of RMLF must be set aside for savings. The amount of money that the country has saved by just setting apart a very small percentage of RMLF in a few months is something that shall be celebrated for generations to come.

I support this Bill. First, it will align us with the Constitution. Secondly, we shall go into good classification. Thirdly, we shall make allocations clear and transparent. Finally, we shall ring fence the roads’ monies that are allocated to the counties. These are good and enough reasons for me to support this Bill.

Thank you.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I will be very brief.

construct a bridge or a culvert because there is no road that is classified under KeRRA. But with this classification which is proposed in the Bill, it is easier to build a bridge and say it leads to a critical infrastructure which is a school.

Finally, like it has been said by my friend from Dagoretti South, there is a big problem in urban centres. KURA has taken very few roads. The rest do not fall under KeRRA. You are told that it is a municipality. That is where most of the population is, but you are helpless because you cannot construct a road for them. This classification will sort out very many issues that we, as Members of Parliament, face.

Members of Parliament have been pushed to a corner and we defend ourselves every time. KeRRA and NG-CDF money is not allocated to a Member of Parliament. We have been pushed to a corner where it appears as if a Member of Parliament should not go near money anywhere. We are always defending ourselves. When we say money will remain in the national Government, does it remain with the President? When we say money will be allocated to the counties, is it given to the governors? What are we afraid of that when money is allocated to KeRRA or NG-CDF, we are always defending ourselves that it is not being allocated to us? Where is the law of representation because Members of Parliament represent people? It seems we have been pushed to a corner where we are so shy that we always keep on defending ourselves. Do governors defend themselves that the money that is allocated to the counties does not go to them? Should the President keep on defending himself that the money that remains in the national Government is not sent to him.

We also need to understand the place of decentralised funds. We started decentralising little funds in education and loans under President Mwai Kibaki’s tenure. When we had devolution, we saw that it could help. If you go to any county today and see a good road, do not even look for a signboard, but know it is constructed by KeRRA. If you see a motorable road in our rural places, know that it is constructed by KeRRA.

I support this Bill. Let this debate rest now. Hon. Kaluma has raised a very important point. I was wondering whether we were in court and still making this law. He said it was a two-pronged approach. We are hoping for the best determination in court, but having a lasting solution through this Bill.

I support the Bill, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Yes, Hon. Owen.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. First, I congratulate the learned friends for doing a commendable job.

I have said that I congratulate the learned friends for a good job.

As I speak as part of the educated friends, I wish to say that this is one of those pieces of legislation that is necessary for this country to unlock a situation that has put the roads in this country in a quagmire. Therefore, I laud my friend, Hon. Kaluma, the learned friend, Hon. Kajwang, and the rest of the team that worked very hard and tirelessly to ensure we have this. I participated in one of those meetings that were negotiating with the Council of Governors, with the Chairman. I thought we had a good and very sober Chairman in the Council of Governors who allowed dialogue even when they had a court case that looked topsy-turvy, but somehow we got somewhere.

One fundamental thing that happened in court was the decision that the RMLF cannot be given out unless counties also have a share. That was fundamental, and it is what gave birth

to this. Counties will now get a share. I urge that as counties get this money, it should be ring fenced. I agree with Hon. Kajwang that it should be ring fenced so that we do not find money given for roads being used to buy carpets, chairs for big bosses or tea. It should just be for roads.

There should be a committee and I do not know whether the Kenya Roads Board in this Bill has the power to go out there and check the roads just like our NG-CDF Board which has the power to go out and check whether you are doing work and oversee the projects. I do not know whether Hon. Kaluma and his team have included that. The Kenya Roads Board, which is the body that actually…

On a point of order, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Yes, Hon. Oundo. What is your point of order?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, given the time remaining before the session concludes, I recognise the significance of this Bill to the people of Kenya, particularly in rural areas. I respectfully request that, in your wisdom, the debate be adjourned to a later time so that more Members of Parliament can contribute to this matter and address their constituents. We do not have much time left.

Hon. Naomi Waqo is seconding. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

We need many Members to contribute to this. It is a very important matter to be debated by all the Members because it concerns the entire nation.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I second.

Next Order.

Chairperson, Public Investment Committee on Social Services and Administration and Agriculture, Hon. Wangwe, are you ready?

Yes, I am.

Okay, you may proceed.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion:

THAT, this House adopts the Fifth Report of the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture on its examination of Financial Statements of the following State Corporations, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 5th August 2025—

Hold on one minute. I think we need a Serjeant-at-Arms here. You may proceed.

Thank you. Hon. Temporary Speaker, allow me to appreciate the commitment of the members of the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture for taking their time to really concentrate and come up with this very wonderful report. Allow me to move the Motion in two lots: The general observations and their recommendations thereto, and the specific individual parastatals and the observations and recommendations thereon.

One of the cross-cutting issues that came up during our interrogation was a lack of possession and ownership documents on land and buildings. All four parastatals showed a sense of lack of possession for either one, two or many other properties, some to even 32 parcels of land, which would not have the ownership documents and their buildings thereon. A case in time is that of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) , whose 32 parcels of land including the property on which the broadcasting house is situated, LR No. 209/5918, do not have title deeds or legal documents The Committee felt the need to make recommendations after observing the generality in terms of how much land did not have title deeds with respect to KBC.

The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) , the defunct one, also does not possess ownership documents for the land LR No. 24968, measuring 10 hectares, situated at Karen, valued at Ksh93,712,675. That is the valuation as at that time, not as at now. Further, the parcel of land is in dispute, and the matter has been dragging on in court since 2008.

The Committee recommends that within three months upon adoption of this report, the accounting officers liaise with the Cabinet Secretaries with respect to state corporations, Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, and the National Land Commission (NLC) , and fast-track the process of acquiring title deeds, resolve disputes between the state corporations, and ensure legal actions are taken against private individuals who have illegally acquired public land. Whereas these agencies pose like they do not have the documentation, private individuals encroach on these parcels of land, and keep on saying that the matter is in court. So, you cannot evict them as they have put an injunction in court. Public land is in a mess to that extent.

We also made a second recommendation that within six months upon adoption of this report, the accounting officers through the NLC should prioritise and expedite resolving ownership issues surrounding parcels of land belonging to the state corporations, and report

their status back to the National Assembly. This is to ensure that the House is acquainted and is seized of the ownership of the various parcels of land.

The second general issue that cuts across the four parastatals is the delay in providing documents to the Auditor-General. The Office of the Auditor-General is a constitutional office that requires that any organisation receiving public funds must be audited. The only body that should audit is the Office of the Auditor-General as provided for under Article 226 of the Constitution, Section 68 (2) of the Public Finance Management Act of 2012, and the Public Audit Act. During the audit, it becomes very difficult for the Office of the Auditor-General, upon entry, to assess all the audit papers, plus the provision of the necessary exit report. Remember, an audit is not just an event of one day. It takes time. It is a long process that entails entry into the organisation, preparation of the document, writing of a draft document, and finally preparing the final statement. Whereas there are various notes back to the agency, they do not respond. But when they hear that they are required to appear before the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture, all accounting officers show up with their volumes of papers, yet they do not want to give auditors these documents at that time.

We recommend that the accounting officers always comply with the provisions of Section 68 (2) of the PFM Act, 2012 and submit the required information for audit within the stipulated timelines. The case of timelines has really been determined, that we must adhere to timelines when it comes to reporting, preparation and finalising of the audited accounts.

We also made a recommendation that the accounting officer who fails to provide the required information for audit pursuant to Section 62 (1) of the Public Audit Act (Cap. 412B), should be prosecuted for the offence. The ruling on what to do is in that section. It has already been determined, and therefore, the parties that do not comply should just be enforced using that Act.

The other issue that cuts across is matters pending in court. We observed that a number of litigations concerning ownership of various properties, debts or debtors and creditors, are in court. The state corporation and other legal matters have been pending before courts of law for long despite resolutions of the House through previous Public Investment Committees (PICs).

We are prosecuting our Fifth Report today, and there are decisions the House will make. We have made recommendations on what to do. Still, once the Committee on Implementation pushed the matter to court through various agencies—the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI)—it is pending in court for as many years as possible.

Therefore, Kenyans have become very clever. No other person can interfere when a matter is before court. It pends in court forever. The issues with the NHIF that I raised on the land in Karen are an example. It has been there. The case metamorphoses into another case each year, from one case to another. The question is when we are going to conclude. We cannot force the Judiciary to make a ruling on the matter.

Clever Kenyans who take matters before court force court officials to put it in such a way that they have to be listened to all through. This is a very tricky issue. We all need to come up as Kenyans and ask how long court cases should take. Kenyans want to see public land and public utilities in the hands of the public and not in the hands of private persons. That makes it very tricky.

Therefore, we recommend as follows: That, within three months upon adoption of this

report, the Inspector-General of the Inspectorate of State Corporations carries out a review of all entities with pending court cases. That office should prepare a comprehensive status report and submit it to the National Assembly with a copy to the Attorney-General who will initiate the process of fast tracking conclusion of the cases within reasonable time. Let the Attorney- General, being the person who can link up between the Executive and the Judiciary, handle this

matter. That is to expedite and inform us the decision of the Judiciary, especially from the President of the Judicial Service Commission.

Accounting officers should strive to embrace alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in resolving disputes before going to court. A small issue that would have been resolved outside court, not small per se because no matter is small before court, ends up in court. Then it takes 10 years to resolve yet it could have been put to a certain administrative committee within Government. You will get a state agency suing another state agency. The matter ends up pending before court, nothing moves, and no Kenyan enjoys the possession of state property.

We also observed another crosscutting issue. It is delayed accountability of imprest. Most civil servants or employees of these parastatals are fond of travels. When they travel within their budgets, they do not surrender imprest on time. What happens? Imprests keep outstanding year in year out.

We noted another clever way within this review especially from the Kenya Fishing Industries Limited. They gave scholarships to about four officers who went to study overseas. For this case, when they came back after two or three years, they were very clever to have earned a job elsewhere while they were in overseas study.

They do not report to their organisation when they come back. Instead, they move around and get a job elsewhere. The accounting officer has to follow up on how to collect the imprest. In such situations, we feel that all organisations sending out their officers must bond them. When bonded, they have to live within the terms of the bond so that they embrace what is in the law.

What do we recommend? We recommend that accounting officers ensure that imprest advanced to officers is surrendered within the stipulated period of seven days. The law talks about seven days after return to a workstation, in accordance with Section 93 of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations of 2015.

What is the second recommendation? Within six months of adoption of this report, we felt that accounting officers who will have failed to take necessary steps to ensure that all outstanding imprests within their jurisdictions are recovered from due dates should be surcharged the full amount due. Accounting officers give these imprests. Again, they pay any other dues to the same officers. They end up just admitting a laissez-faire attitude on collection of the monies if not put to pressure to recover it.

Underfunding and low budgetary disbursements is the other general issue we found out. This House is the budget-making House. We do not just make the Budget on that one day. Budget-making is a process. It begins with the sector working groups that oversee sector requirements before they submit a Cabinet memo that the Cabinet approves. That is before their budget moves into this House.

Therefore, why should you give Ksh50 to a user who has requested Ksh200? We, as a Committee, felt that the National Treasury should review overall budget requirements of SAGAs and ministries to allow them resources that are meaningfully within what they require.

What do we recommend? The Committee recommends that the Cabinet Secretary of the National Treasury endeavour to allocate and disburse; not just allocate but also disburse funds as appropriated to state corporations funded by the national Government. The Cabinet Secretary of the National Treasury should ensure that budgets are realistic and achievable at all times. They should always adhere to annual work plans, procurement plans, and revenue collection capabilities of the respective corporations in compliance with Regulation 44(2) of the Public Finance Management (national Government) Regulations of 2015.

Yes, this House will appropriate money. How about disbursement? That has been the biggest challenge. No money moves from the National Treasury to the various SAGAs ear in year out, and month in month out. We also request that the National Treasury adheres to its obligation.

Allow me to move the House to individual specific agencies as listed in this report. Beginning with the NSSF—just as a synopsis because most other issues are in the main report—I want to highlight that we observed rental debt is a matter of concern, among other concerns.

In the 2020/2021 Financial Year, the NSSF witnessed an increase of Ksh230,962,739 in debtors. In overall, debtors totalled to Ksh541,755,371. That has been outstanding for more than 2 years. This being 2020/2021, the NSSF mainly attributed this shift increase to the Covid- 19 pandemic that hit the whole world.

The explanation for the cause of delay in recovering is untenable. The debts have been outstanding since the last two years. That is beyond Covid-19. That the 2020/2021 was a Covid- 19 year is the first thing most agencies appearing before us say. However, how about when you go one year behind and one year a head? You will find that the two-year elasticity check proves that this was not the point. There is much more than Covid-19.

What did we recommend? Let the Auditor-General, within three months upon adoption of the report, review the composition and position of rent debtors and report in subsequent audit reports of the 2023/2024 audit cycle. That is in accordance with Article 229(4) of the Constitution. That is so that we follow up. Let the Auditor-General pick it. Again, for the year 2023/2024, the Auditor-General should report the final audit as we move forward.

Hon. Speaker, the other issue of interest that I need to highlight to this House about the NSSF Financial Year 2020/2021 is budgetary control and performance. The Fund indicated that they tried to fill the vacant position vide advertisements, which was key. They felt that they were not able to meet their budgetary performance targets because of lack of staff. They tried to fill the vacancy via an advert in the Daily Nation in 2015. However, the under- absorption of the year ending 30th June 2021 could not be affected by the transactions of 2015.

The explanation they gave is that since 2015 they had been attempting to recruit staff, but to date they do not have enough staff who can support the checks, balances and performance of the organisation. Additionally, they said that the delayed recruitment of senior managers and late implementation of the Fund's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) associated with the court cases may imply that the management had been breaching the legal provisions leading to court cases that led to wastage of the Fund's money in the form of legal costs. Without casting aspersions to the legal professionals, whether a lawyer wins a case or not, they have to be paid; whether a matter is successful in court or not, they have to be paid. Upon engaging a legal mind, we know that it is a cost. These costs were injurious to the financial performance NSSF.

We recommend that the accounting officer ensures that at all times the budgets are realistic, achievable and always adhere to annual work plans, procurement plans and revenue collection schedules. The Committee reprimanded the then accounting officer for delay in having the human resource instruments approved on time. Whereas they were struggling with engaging staff, the human resource instruments were not yet approved to warrant that NSSF could hire staff at that time. I applaud the current management of NSSF. They now have the instruments in place. In the recent past there have been engagements of some staff and we look forward to seeing a new face of NSSF and not that of 2020/2021.

Allow me to move the House to the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KEMFRI) in the Financial Years 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. I will pick a few things that were observed by the Committee. There was a loss of a deep-sea observatory rover. The loss, whose value then was Ksh13,242,599, negatively affected the value of total assets of the Institute. There was no documentary evidence that the rover was insured and that a claim had been launched. This implied that the management had breached Section 72(1) of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, Cap 412 and Section 160(1) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, Cap 412C. This Act requires that the item must have been insured. The institution should have owned the property but as at that time, they lost the property and they cannot claim

it. In the prevailing circumstance that the recovery of the assets or compensation of the same is remote, the management ought to have initiated the process of seeking write-off of the assets' value of Ksh13,242,599, from the Institute’s books of account. Whereas the management is aware that this item is lost, they have kept the figures in the books. They have not even sought the write-off because there is no way they are going to recover this asset, which dropped in the middle of the ocean, and to date it has not been found.

We recommend that within three months upon adoption of this Report, the accounting officer at KEMFRI should ensure that the write-off process is undertaken in line with the provisions of Section 69 of the PFM Act, Cap 412A. The Committee reprimands the then Accounting Officer for failing to insure the Institute’s assets in breach of Section 72(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, Cap. 412A, and Section 160(1) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.

The other issue that we observed in the books of the KMFRI was the cash and cash equivalents. The Institute lost Ksh165,112, reportedly held at the Baringo Station, through theft or pilferage by its staff. The case could not be prosecuted and sustained in court, hence the alleged culprit was acquitted. The money was just lost in the Cash Office. How is it that the culprit cannot be prosecuted? Nobody can give evidence that the money was lost. There was no breakage. The facts presented in court could not allow the judge to give a verdict that somebody had stolen the money. What does it mean? There are definitely no administrative measures in the Cash Office that can support the handling and protection of corporation resources. Therefore, the management was in breach of Regulation 165 of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations, 2015, on risk management, fraud prevention, and internal controls. They demonstrated a lack of risk management, fraud prevention, and internal controls.

What do we recommend? The Committee should reprimand the then Accounting Officer for breach of Regulation 165 of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations, 2015. The buck stops with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in cases where employees are not doing the right thing and the Government is losing resources.

The third point was on the Doria Operationalisation Project. The then Accounting Officer irregularly transferred Ksh37,886,770 to the State Department for Fisheries and Blue Economy, which was in breach of Section 54(1) of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations, 2015, which prohibits payments made out of funds earmarked for specific activities for purposes other than those activities. We budget for specific activities. But the Accounting Officer decided on his own volition to route that Ksh37,886,770 back to the Ministry for a project called Doria Operationalisation. To date, that money has never been refunded back to KMFRI. For what reason? The KMFRI CEO said that it was an instruction from the then Principal Secretary, whose evidence was not adduced.

What does the Committee recommend? The Committee should reprimand the then Accounting Officer for breach of Section 54(1) of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations, 2015.

The third agency is the National Hospital Insurance Fund, especially for financial years 2018/2019 and 2020/2021, during which the Fund reported a deficit of Ksh1,156,934,012. This is a huge figure resulting in reduction in retained earnings to Ksh18,237,948,239. That is every material representation of a deficit. Further, as of 30th June 2021, the Fund reported a revenue of Ksh22,790,080,000, whereas the actual receipts were Ksh57,918,358,000 against budgeted receipts of Ksh80,709,438,000, while the actual expenditure for the year amounted to Ksh75,198,084,000. This pointed to dismal performance in the year. Therefore, the strategies envisaged to improve performance did not work, or there were undisclosed revenue leakages.

We recommend that within three months upon adoption of this Report, the Accounting Officer submits to the Auditor-General for audit a comprehensive and well-documented

handing over report detailing all the assets, including investments, properties in dispute and liabilities as prepared by the outgoing NHIF management to the incoming Social Health Authority (SHA) management. The Auditor-General shall audit and submit the report to the Committee. This being the year of transition, those figures have to be consistently taken into account and shall form both the closing and the opening balances for SHA. Therefore, when reviewing the audits of SHA, we shall be cognisant that these figures are represented accordingly.

Under Planned and Property, we noted the issue of construction of a multi-storey car park. This is a story that has been around for some time. We visited the project on 20th February 2024, and the Committee observed that although the Accounting Officer indicated that some organisations were currently occupying the building, including the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Kenya Fisheries Services, National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), Cabinet Affairs Office, National Land Commission, Kenya Copyright Board, Water Services Regulatory Board, Cabinet Secretariat, Kenya Roads Board, Kenya Water Towers Agency, other small private firms, and the NHIF- Nairobi Branch Office, only the Judiciary had stored its documents on one of the floors, while other tenants had vacated their premises. Therefore, when you visit the building, you see what I would call a ghost property, whose occupation does not warrant the amount invested. This matter had been dealt with in the previous Public Investments Committee (PIC) 16th, 19th and 21st Reports, wherein the Committee observed the unprofessional manner in which the project was executed.

This comment is not just from me, but also from my earlier colleagues who, in the 16th, 19th and 21st Reports, observed the unprofessional manner in which the project was executed. The previous PIC recommended that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) investigates the procurement process of the project and comes up with appropriate recommendations regarding any breach of the law. However, not much progress has been made by the EACC; therefore, we further recommended that, within three months upon adoption of the report, the EACC should fast-track investigations on how the project was initiated, feasibility done, construction works procured and how the contract price was varied.

Throughout my life, I have never seen a project with a variation of 337 per cent. This is the first time I have come across a project with such a variation, over and above the original contract sum of Ksh909,709,305, in breach of the law and how the vehicular lift was introduced midway into the project. This project is a case study of corruption. Anyone who would want to undertake corruption should use this project as a case study so that he can do it better rather than doing it in an open and blatant way. There were proposed lifts to carry vehicles to any floor, which never took off, and the building began upside down. This is better narrated through a professional investigator from EACC, who should tell Kenyans what happened.

What are you saying to the nation? What was the contract price for the project? What were the contractors demanding as their payment for the variations?

Hon. Temporary Speaker, upon signing, the contract reads Ksh909,709,305. As at the time of conclusion, this project has cost Ksh3.9 billion, which translates to about 333 per cent.

How much has been paid?

The entire amount so far is paid.

That is that thing next to...

Next to NHIF.

Which was to be a parking.

Which was to be a parking. The entire money is with Kenyans. That is why it is important that EACC makes a follow-up to really understand and tell Kenyans how they lost their money.

Have you recommended prosecution?

Yes. I want to read my recommendation.

Then you may proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) was my final agency where we observed the issue of ongoing concern. It was deliberated in its third PIC report, which was my own report and upholds the observations and recommendations therein. In this report, we observed that the corporation's corporate governance is considerably weak, thereby exposing the corporation to potential losses, reputation and operational risks. The corporation is technically insolvent and its existence as a going concern is dependent upon the support from the Government and its creditors. I am looking at the general view of the Financial Years 2013/2014 to 2018/2019. Therefore, that is a cross-cutting issue of those various years of KBC. The third issue I look at is that the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation took a loan from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) Japan, in 1989. The National Treasury has over the years serviced on behalf of the corporation. This is an issue which the national Government needs to make a decision and especially the head of the National Treasury should look at. The Ministry has been paying the loan. It has finished paying the loan to the overseas lender but this loan is in the books of KBC. What does it mean? When KBC is making its financial reporting, it reports that huge debt. Why should the National Treasury pay the liability out but leave the liability in the books of KBC? It does not make commercial sense. Instead, it makes all managing directors to operate at a deficit. No day will KBC appear attractive making it easy for any managing director to mess up the accounts of KBC. This loan was received in the form of equipment, which was rendered obsolete because of the liberalisation of the electronic industry in the 1990s and the migration to FM radio stations. After all, the loan was given in kind, meaning we received the equipment. The obsolete equipment cannot form part of the strategic investment of the enterprise now. What do we recommend, Hon. Temporary Speaker? We recommend that within three months upon the adoption of this report, the EACC to investigate whether there are either financial leakages or financial impropriety. Should any person or officer be found culpable the DPP to prosecute, initiate legal action with a view to holding the responsible persons accountable for the financial leakage and impropriety.

Second, the Committee recommends that KBC diversifies its revenue base to reduce over-reliance on government support. In the broadcasting space – how I wish Hon. Kiarie was here – it is not only KBC, we have very many stations. The Royal Media is a big house. They make profits. Their balance sheet is healthy. We have very many young broadcasting houses. Kenya Broadcasting Corporation is a Government station but it is always reporting losses. Why

is it that it cannot do something better? Yes, it can. It must now think out of the box and come up with something better.

On the issue of land and buildings, the corporation does not possess ownership documents for land and buildings valued at Ksh6,616,759,000. Most of the land they have, they do not possess corporation documents. The corporation parcel land reference number 75893/111/66A situated at Voi Township measuring 3.7 acres could not be located by the valuer at the time of valuation of assets in November, 2014. It was very tricky. The corporation invited a valuer who was supposed to go on site to value land and he could not trace the land. What does that mean? The land was on paper but there was no physical trace of that land.

The corporation's parcel of land reference number 75893/111/64A measuring 0.7413 acres located at Voi Township and valued at Ksh1,600,000 had been taken over by the Ministry of Mining. KBC is in possession of the title but the Ministry of Mining possesses the land. These are trans-crossing issues.

The corporation parcel of land reference number LR11773, Ngong TX Station located in Kajiado County differed in size. The letter of allotment indicates that the land is 33.41 acres, which is 13.53 hectares. The information available indicates that the actual size on the ground is 124.79055 acres, valued at Ksh2,700,000,000. These are issues that need to be put in order so that we know how much land KBC owns.

The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation Jamhuri Park LR15090 measuring 100 acres was allegedly grabbed. Sixty acres was recovered by the Kenya Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and was reverted back to Kenya Forest Service while KBC was reallocated 29 acres leaving 11 acres that has not been accounted for at the submission date of this report. These are issues which need to be clarified. The Kenya Forest Service complains like it has some gain on that land. The land was 100 acres. Part of it is gone and 11 acres are not accounted for.

In Kenya, there is nothing as good as land so when we say 11 acres are not accounted for, it means somebody else is sitting on them. The only person who can tell us is the investigator. He should really look into this matter and advise where the people's land that is owned by KBC is.

The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation's Sauti House, which houses Mombasa office, has a pending court case and part of its land has been grabbed by Housing Finance Company of Kenya (HFCK). It has some gain on this land in Mombasa. Whether that land is grabbed or not its title reads KBC. The Housing Finance Company of Kenya is sitting on that land. It is necessary that it reverts back to Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.

The KBC land in Nyali, TXLR number 1476-1 measuring approximately 22.8 hectares, was encroached by squatters. This is prime land that is now under squatters. We want this land that is owned by KBC back to the people. We must help KBC through this House so that the issue of land is addressed. The National Land Commission, Hon. Temporary Speaker, must be called to order and instructed to intervene and recover the land that rightfully belongs to the Kenyan people, restoring it to its rightful status as corporate property. This issue does not concern KBC alone. All the reports I present here touch on matters of land. The National Land Commission must do justice to the Kenyan people.

We recommend that within three months of the adoption of this report, the accounting officer of KBC, in collaboration with the National Land Commission, should expedite the processing of title deeds for all parcels of land owned by KBC. There is no shortcut. The National Land Commission must be called to order and compelled to make the title deeds available because KBC is not just any other entity. It is part of the Government. We must get this right. Furthermore, within three months of the adoption of this report, the accounting officer should present to the National Assembly a comprehensive report on the status of KBC’s

land parcels, specifically regarding the acquisition of ownership documents. Our Committee has consistently insisted on this, and KBC must report back.

What is surprising is that the asset registers of most of these agencies are not updated. This is why my colleagues may ask why we insist they report back to Parliament. It is because the only place where the assets of a corporation are properly recorded is in the asset register, and yet if you examine KBC’s asset register, it is not updated. Rather than focusing on global assets of the organisation, let us individualise and ensure that assets related to property, land, and equipment, particularly land, are properly filed and reported back to Parliament.

In the Financial Year 2016/2017, there was an issue concerning legal fees and pending cases between Channel 2 Corporation and KBC. The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation entered into a joint venture with Channel 2 Group. The agreement granted Channel 2 Group the right to operate and produce broadcasting content, including movies and other programmes on KBC stations, formerly known as Metro Television. For those who were present during those years, Metro TV had a familiar presence in Kenya. The total cost arising from this arrangement was significant. We observed that the national broadcaster procured the services of three firms: one for transmission consultancy for Ksh9,500,000; another for accounting consultancy at Ksh8,432,000; and another one for marketing consultancy at Ksh15,785,000, totalling Ksh33,717,040. However, management failed to provide a clear explanation for engaging three separate firms, especially considering that the arbitration process had already failed.

This is a detailed matter, and I urge my colleagues to read the full report. This is my summary, but the full details are contained in the report. In essence, one of the CEOs authorised a payment of USD550,000 related to this matter, which led to the dismissal of that CEO by the Cabinet Secretary. Our recommendation is based on the observation that the accounting officer was in breach of Article 227 of the Constitution and Section 91(1) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act 2015, which stipulates that open tendering shall be the preferred method for procurement of goods. Procurement is not merely a procedural act. It is enshrined in law, particularly in Article 227 of the Constitution which outlines the standards of accuracy, precision, and transparency required in procurement processes.

Therefore, our Committee recommends that the then accounting officer be reprimanded for failing to adhere to Article 227, as the procurement process did not comply with constitutional requirements. Additionally, we recommend that the accounting officer of KBC embrace alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to bring the case to its logical conclusion, without interfering with the matter currently in court. However, if there is a chance to resolve the matter outside court, let them do so without necessarily forcing them.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, the Committee reprimands the then accounting officer for failing to undertake proper feasibility study before signing the joint venture with Channel 2 Group. It is amorphous. The document that was tabled before the Committee is not conclusive. Some pages are missing. I cannot stand before this House to confirm that the document that was filed before the Committee consists of a joint venture contract because most of the pages are missing. You cannot really read from one page flowing to the other. It is a flawed document.

The Committee recommends to conduct an inquiry on the circumstances surrounding the joint venture agreement between KBC and Channel 2 Group. This should not be done by the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture only. Generally, we recommend that we open an inquiry into the joint venture agreement so that we can understand what really happened between Channel 2 Group and KBC. After consulting with the legal team on the matter being before the court in London, we felt we could not open it now as, maybe, part of the issues raised might jeopardise the outcome of the case. That is why we left it at that level. Unless the other part is concluded, we cannot jeopardise the process in the court.

Is the matter before court under active litigation or is it just lying there?

It is active. We are actually waiting for the court’s decision. The two parties have submitted. Any disclosure of information can jeopardise the outcome of that case.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, as I wind up, allow me to really thank the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Directorate of Committees, particularly Audit Committees, and my colleagues for tirelessly working on this Report. I thank my secretariat for taking time to compile four agencies in one Report. It is very tiresome. I thank my colleagues—Hon. Wuod Chief whom I will request to second the Report and Hon. Kosgei— and the others who took time to really look into the matters that were canvassed in this Report. It is not easy or taken for granted. As your Chairman, I am only eligible to lead the Committee, but the issues canvassed here were really dealt with by all the Members whom I thank.

I also thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me ample time on odd days of working in the Chamber to sit down with my Committee and deliberate. I most sincerely thank you and owe a lot of gratitude to you and the entire House for looking at this Report.

I beg to move and call upon the great Hon. Member for Ndhiwa...

Hon. Wangwe, it is always a pleasure to preside when you are moving a Report. I wish all Audit Committees are like this. I know all the Members who have been with you in this Report and the previous one can agree with you without much debate, including Hon. (Dr) Wilberforce Oundo. I can see a crease. You are the Chairman of the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture.

Yes.

What does administration cover? Does it include matters falling under security and police?

Yes. Administration covers matters on what you mentioned. The Kenya School of Government…

The Temporary Speaker

: Before you conclude, there is a structure along Mbagathi Road which is a facility we are building for National Police Service to deal with those specific injuries that they may suffer when they are securing Kenyans.

Yes.

Under the Departmental Committee on Administration and Security, we budgeted Ksh400 million to build that facility. That thing cannot be beyond Ksh400 million. It is complete and ready. Remember, in terms of implementation, we were questioned why we contract private individuals when we have Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) engineers who can build it. Yes, the soldiers are available. The implementation was assigned to KDF, which then subcontracted it to a third party. We see funds that were budgeted under the Departmental Committee for Administration and Internal Security somehow being channelled to KDF through an unknown structure. Instead of KDF constructing it with their own soldiers, they contracted it out to a third party. That facility is not ready, and our police officers are getting injured. The contractor is now demanding an additional Ksh1 billion to deliver that project, which is meant to serve the police officers.

I would request that, with these details, you continue your diligent work with your esteemed Committee Members and ensure that this matter is addressed urgently so that we can provide this project to the police. Many officers are being injured while securing Kenyans. If there is anything like quantity survey akin to what you are recommending to NSSF… It is crazy that Ksh3.5 billion has been paid for that nonsense and ugly thing on the road. Please act swiftly so that the facility can be made available for the purpose for which it was intended.

Currently, the police only have a facility at Kanyonyo, which is not serving all those officers effectively. You need to protect what I see as a potential loss of money. We will suffer if you do not intervene promptly. Otherwise, I am very grateful. You may conclude and call upon whomever you wish to second this Motion.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for that further assignment. Allow me to pick it up from the Hansard following your communication.

I beg to move and invite my good friend and colleague, Hon. Wuod Chief, to second.

Yes, Hon. Martin Owino.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. As a member of the PIC, I am very happy and privileged to have a Chairperson like Hon. Emmanuel Wangwe. He is prominent and up to the task. I rise to second the Motion.

Order, Hon. Members. Hon. Martin Owino, you will have nine minutes to second when the matter is next listed to be transacted by the House Business Committee (HBC) .

Hon. Members, the time being 7.03 p.m., this House stands adjourned until Wednesday, 24th September 2025, at 9.30 a.m.

The House rose at 7.03 p.m.

Published by Clerk of the National Assembly Parliament Buildings Nairobi