Wednesday, 24th September, 2025

Clerk, do we have quorum?

Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

Order, hon. Senators, we now have quorum. Clerk, you may proceed to call the first Order.

Hon. Senators, we expected to have the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development for purposes of responding to three Questions: No.043, No.095 and No.099. Two of those questions are by the Senator for Nairobi City County, Hon. Edwin Sifuna and the third question is by the Senator for Embu County, Hon. Alexander Mundigi.

Unfortunately, the Cabinet Secretary, Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development has just written a letter which was received last night at 7.00 p.m. indicating that she will be out of the country and, therefore, will not be able to attend today's plenary for purposes of responding to these Questions. That being the case and her being the only Cabinet Secretary who was scheduled to appear today during this Question Time, it means that we will not have the Question time this morning. That is the sad reality.

Question No.043

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was reacting to what my Whip was saying because I heard him say sawa and I said it cannot be okay.

This is an institution. You cannot write to us at 7.00 p.m. regarding an appearance of the following day. In fact, so serious is this matter that I have taken the trouble to attend a Cabinet retreat chaired by none other than the President and raise this issue.

As an institution, how does she expect us to function if barely a few hours to her appearance before Parliament she is writing to us letters? To do what? Hon. Alice Wahome needs to know she is no longer the Member of Parliament for Kandara Constituency. She is a Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of Kenya. I have seen the letter purporting that she has travelled out of the country.

Did she just realise last night that she is travelling out of the country? This is serious contempt against Parliament. The unfortunate thing is that the power is with us, but we have refused to pass that report which Mr. Speaker, you are aware of.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to put you on the spot because you are the Chairperson of the Powers and Privilege Committee. You know very well that we passed a report in this House that stated that failure to honour parliamentary appearances, including Question Time, particularly on such a serious matter as this, should attract some form of fine, so that people do not treat this House with that kind of contempt.

I know there are many people because I have seen conversations from the other House saying what are Cabinet Secretaries going to do in the Senate? Does it even include the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development; a function that is nearly 100 per cent devolved?

Mr Speaker, Sir and the Members who serve in the Powers and Privilege Committee, I want to urge you, with tremendous respect, that we have already passed that report in this House. It is for you to adopt and guide the House. Lead us to do the necessary amendments that we need, so that people begin to treat this House with the seriousness that it deserves.

It is not wrong not to appear, but at least give us the notice in good time. The Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development was supposed to appear today. He sent a letter one week ago and when we sat yesterday as the Senate Business Committee (SBC), we said, okay, sufficient notice and time has been given. We can plan ourselves accordingly, but not 7.00 p.m. that is hardly 12 hours.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to request you and the team that you lead in the Powers and Privileges Committee to rescue us from this kind of embarrassment that we find ourselves in every other Wednesday morning.

I thank you.

Proceed, Senator for Nairobi City County.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me join the Senate Majority Leader in expressing my disappointment. If you look at the matters that we were to have conversations with the Minister today; Nairobi is under attack from land grabbers. These are matters that are urgent. If you look at the Order Paper, the College of Insurance in South C has been grabbed.

As we speak, they do not even have access to the college because the land grabber has fenced off the place. We are talking about land in Mbotela, Kasarani, Makadara and a playground in Buruburu Phase 5. My expectation was that the Cabinet Secretary would treat this one as urgent. To her credit, she has been of help to the people of Nairobi before when Tom Mboya Social Hall had been grabbed.

If it was not for the Statement that was made here in the Senate to revoke that title, that land would have been gone. She must treat these issues with urgency. There are certain dockets, that as a Cabinet Secretary, you must know that these are matters of life and death. These are things to do with health and land, among others. We are under siege here in Nairobi. So, we really need this Cabinet Secretary to come through.

This is the only avenue we get to have these conversations with her. We have lamented here before and expressed outrage on the manner of communication. All of us in leadership have had opportunity to travel. This travel is planned weeks or months in advance. You have to get visas and clearances. It is not a surprise.

As a Senate, we do our best to write in good time to the people that we need to have conversations with here. They can tell us: “By the way, in two weeks' time, I will

not be in Nairobi and will not be able to join you in the sitting”. So, it is a bit contemptuous.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have also not seen the written responses from the Ministry. These are urgent matters. Even if she was not able to come, let her give us written responses, so that we are able to know what the situation with these parcels of land is.

We cannot afford any more time lost because, as I have said, we are under siege in Nairobi. So, with those many remarks, this one was a great disservice to us as a people of Nairobi, given how urgent these matters were.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Thank you. I want to believe that maybe the reason for her not appearing is not even the travelling issue. I think the responses were not ready because according to our rules and procedure, written responses must be filed 12 hours before appearance of the Cabinet Secretary. We have not received any communication in that regard from the Cabinet Secretary and the only thing we are told is that she is out of the country. So, I want to believe otherwise.

Proceed, Sen. Wambua.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I heard the Senator for Kakamega saying ni sawa; it is a very heavy statement. It speaks of a House that has just given up. You know, whatever happens, happens. If it does not happen, it does not happen.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you know, the Senate Majority Leader has the latitude to try and say he is putting the Speaker on the spot. A lot of us may not have that latitude. However, you know this thing has happened before, many times.

You sitting on that Chair having given direction on what we should do. Perhaps that is why the Senator for Kakamega is saying ni sawa sawa. You have told us and we have agreed with you that we should stop lamenting and take action. The action is provided for in our Standing Orders. We have attempted to take that action to censure these Cabinet Secretaries.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the last request for a Motion of censure was by the Senator of Kitui County, Enoch Wambua, against the Cabinet Secretary in charge of the National Treasury and Economic Planning. To date, that request is still in your office. We are suffering. Maybe these colleagues of mine have not told you. Maybe the Chairperson of the Liaison Committee, who is the Deputy Speaker, has not told you the committees of the Senate are suffering; that now even governors will choose whether they want to appear or not to appear.

This is because a very bad precedent is being set, that somebody can wake up in the morning and write to a committee of the Senate or the plenary and excuse themselves from appearance and it is okay, they can go and do whatever they want to do.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, find it in your heart to bite the bullet and allow one or two of these Cabinet Secretaries to be censured by this House. Perhaps that will send a stronger message to them that appearing before the Senate is not a matter of choice.

As I conclude, you remember when we started these morning sittings, we had a lot of debate around it. Personally, I had my own reservations about it, but I discussed with the Senator Majority Leader and we agreed that it is okay. Perhaps it is the best way of doing these things to also give this House some visibility and allow Cabinet Secretaries to appear before us and respond to questions. It cannot be their choice. It

cannot be them deciding when to appear and when not to appear. Please guide and lead us into censuring one or two of these Cabinet Secretaries and then the rest will learn their lessons.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Proceed, Sen. Mundigi.

Bw. Spika, asante kwa kunipa nafasi ya kuchangia mjadala kuhusu waziri waliofaa kuja ili tuwaulize maswali siku ya leo. Naunga mkono Kiongozi wa walio Wengi na Seneta wa Kitui, Mhe. Wambua, kwa yale waliosema. Ninakumbuka vizuri tulipopitisha kwamba magavana 47 na waziri 22 wawe wakitembelea hiki kikao wanapoitwa, tumeona utendaji wa kazi ya hawa mawaziri au magavana na wafanya kazi wengine.

Sisi Maseneta tunatumia pesa nyingi sana ya Serikali kuja hapa Jumatano saa tatu asubuhi hadi saa saba kwa sababu kikao ni saa nane. Leo, Mhe. Waziri wa ardhi au mashamba angekuja hapa. Naunga mkono Seneta wa Nairobi kwa yale aliyosema kuhusu Nairobi, kwamba mashamba mengi yameibiwa na mambo mengi kufanyika.

Nakumbuka yaliyosemwa wiki jana kuhusu mashamba ambayo yako Ruiru. Inasemekana huenda ikawa makanisa yaliuziwa kwa njia isiyofaa au wenye mashamba walikuwa na shida. Kwa mambo kama haya, Mhe. Waziri kama huyu angekuja hapa hata ikiwa haikuwa swali langu, huenda angeulizwa: Je, hiyo title deed ilikuwa revoked kwa namna gani?

Kwa hivyo ni mambo mengi sana ambayo Wakenya wangetaka kujua siku ya leo. Mtu anapoomba Shilingi milioni mbili au Shilingi million ishirini kutoka kwa benki ili kujenga nyumba halafu baadaye usikie kwamba hiyo nyumba sio yake ama shamba imerudi kwa wenyewe, ni jambo la aibu sana.

Bw. Spika, naunga mkono ikiwa kuna njia inayofaa utuelekeze tuwachukulie hatua magavana na mawaziri ambao hawatakuja kwa vikao kujibu maswali. Naunga mkono tuone tutaendelea namna gani ili tusaidie Wakenya kwa njia inayofaa.

Ni mimi Seneta wa Kaunti ya Embu, Alexander Munyi Mundigi. Asante.

Proceed, Sen. Wafula.

Asante, Bw. Spika, kwa nafasi hii. Kwanza, nina huzuni sana kwa sababu mawaziri ambao wamepewa nafasi kuhudumia Wakenya ambao hawana sauti na nafasi ya kujitetea, wanaweza kuandika barua bila kudhibitisha kama ni kweli wanasafari. Jambo la msingi ni kuwa, ukikaa katika maeneno ya majembe ama kula bata hapa Nairobi, utapata kuna watu ambao mashamba yao yananyakuliwa ama yamo mbioni kunyakuliwa na hakuna mtu yeyote anaye waskiza wamiliki.

Hivyo basi, najihusisha na matamshi na Mhe. Seneta wa Nairobi kwamba, lazima Mhe. Waziri huyu ajue kwamba Wakenya wana haki ya kupata huduma. Huenda yeye ana hati ya kumiliki mashamba yake, lakini kuna watu wanapoteza urithi wao kwa sababu ya matapeli katika sekta ya ardhi.

Kama Seneti, naomba Mhe. Waziri kama huyu anyolewe kwa chupa ili awe na adabu ya kuhudumia Wakenya. Hizi changamoto za ardhi haziko Nairobi pekee yake; kwangu Bungoma, mashamba ya wazee, mayatima na wajane yanany’ang’anywa na watu ambao wana ushirikiano mkubwa na maafisa katika sekta ya ardhi.

Katika mkutano wa jukwaa la usalama kule Bungoma, niliweza kurai Mhe. Waziri wa Usalama, Mhe. Murkomen, kwamba, lazima idara za ujasusi kama vile

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) na idara za kupambana dhidi ya ufisadi, zimulike idara ya ardhi vile vile.

Baadhi ya watu wanaofanya katika idara ya ardhi wana mashamba Kenya nzima na ukiuliza stakabadhi kudhibitisha walinunua lini na mashahidi walikuwa akina nani, hawapo. Hii ni ishara kwamba hawa watu wananufaika kwa kutojua kwa Wakenya.

Tulikuwa na michezo ya Afrika Mashariki kule Mombasa. Tulipokuwa tunapiga gumzo na wenyeji wa Mombasa, wengine wanashuhudia kwamba mashamba yao yamechukuliwa na maafisa katika serikali ama wale walio na marafiki katika serikali. Sitaraji tena Mhe. Waziri ataitwa hapa halafu atuandikie barua kwamba anaenda ng’ambo. Iwapo hataki kazi, tumruhusu aende na asirudi ili tuchague Mhe. Waziri mwingine atufanyie kazi.

Mwisho, kuna idara ya ardhi katika kaunti zetu. Mhe. Sifuna alitaja hapa katibu fulani katika kaunti ya Nairobi ambaye anabadilisha tu umiliki wa ardhi kana kwamba yeye ndiye mwenye mashamba hapa Nairobi. Lazima kuwe na mfumo ambao utabainisha nani anapeana mashamba kisheria; iwapo kuna kubadilisha wale wanao miliki mashamba haya na jenzo zipi zitafuatwa ili, pasiwepo nafasi ya wale wanaofanya katika serikali za kaunti kujigawa mashamba ilhali wenyewe hawana maeneo ya kuburudika ama kuekeza.

Nikimalizia, marehemu Mbunge, Lawrence Sifuna, aliongoza jopo la kuangalia mashamba ya uma kule Bungoma. Ripoti iliandikwa na ikapelekwa katika Bunge la Kaunti kule Bungoma. Hapa katika hili Bunge la Seneti, niliuliza mahali hiyo ripoti imefika na mpaka wa leo, idara ya ardhi katika serikali haijatupa majibu.

Sisi tunajua kwamba nyunyula zinasema mashamba ya uma kule Kaunti ya Bungoma ni zaidi ya 325,000. Itakuwaje watoto hawana maeneno ya kujiburidisha, kufanya mazoezi na kukuza talanta, ilhali watu waliopigiwa kura wana nafasi ya kuhakikisha kwamba mashamba ya uma yanalindwa kwa sababu ya vizazi vijavyo.

Naomba Bunge la Seneti, tukiongozwa nawe, Bw. Spika, wakati umefika tusimame kidete na tumtetee mnyonge.

Asante.

Let us go to the next Order. The Hon. Sen. Catherine Muma, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to move the Motion- THAT, the Senate notes the Report of the Parliament of Kenya Delegation to the 2025 Hearing of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) held at the United Nations (UN) in New York, United States of America (USA) on 13th to 14th February, 2025, laid on the Table of the Senate on Thursday, 17th July, 2025.

Mr. Speaker, Sir and Hon. Senators, the Annual Parliamentary Hearing of the UN is organised in close collaboration with various bodies. Its importance resides in the active contribution to developing working papers on matters at hand, highlighting the Parliamentary

dimensions of these issues to enable parliamentarians to understand decision-making mechanisms better.

The deliberations by the IPU during the two-day session in New York comprised the main programme with seven sessions that is provided for in this report. The hearing included seven interactive discussions featuring panels of experts' topics such as international trade, debt, taxation overseas, development assistance and others.

The opening discussion focused on issues of the deep challenges relating to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the mobilisation of political will to ensure that SDGs are implemented by Member States of the UN.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, without going through the entire report, what came to pass is that as we implement and discuss issues of development in our own country as Members of Parliament (MPs) , we are called upon to also take cognisance of the international obligations that we have. We should use Parliament as a way of overseeing the implementation of these international treaties and obligations by not only citing or holding the Executive accountable to the obligations made on behalf of Kenyans, but by also measuring whether it is the committees that ensure that even as we carry out our oversight roles, we can also audit those sectors against our obligations within the SDGs.

As is usual, the meeting called upon the Member States to help address the challenges around the SDGs and get their own States to move the pin in terms of the implementation of these obligations.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I request Sen. Mungatana to second.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to second this Motion.

On behalf of the Kenyan delegation that attended, one of the things that remains very commendable is that this Parliament has continuously maintained its presence at the international level. I commend the Sen. Catherine Mumma, together with the delegation that comprised Members of Parliament from the National Assembly and our own Senators who attended the deliberations.

Being in those international fora helps us to understand the perspectives the world is taking on very important global-centred decisions that need to be made and how they are being implemented.

One of the critical things that was being discussed here is how Parliaments are supposed to find financing for the SDGs. Unfortunately, if you look at the report, you will see that only 17 per cent of these SDGs were on course towards attainment.

The world sits down, Kenya being part of it at the international level, makes decisions and says that we are going to fight poverty and reduce financial burdens on countries. Then, many years later, the very leaders who set up those goals are not able to follow through.

Here, we are told that the SDGs Report of 2024 reveals that only 17 per cent of the SDG targets are on track. That means that maybe we need to ask ourselves where are we going as part of the world of nations.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I watched with consternation when President Trump took to the floor in the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting. He criticised, and much of the media afterwards were on his case, the fact that the United Nations is not doing what it was meant to do. It is not hitting the goals. In fact, he went on to say he himself, as a President, has managed to do more by stopping at least seven wars for the time that he has been in office and the UN did not help him, did not even help him to tie out the remaining issues around those seven wars.

Whether those claims were true or not, because he did not give a list of what he was talking about, the fact of the matter is that since the new administration of Trump took over, they decided to defund a lot of the UN activities that hitherto were funded by the United States.

Since we set these goals, and then only 17 per cent of them have been achieved so many years later, is there a better model that we can follow for us to achieve global peace, eradication or reduction of poverty and climate change goals? What do we need to do?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in as much as these deliberations at this two-day session in New York did not give a concrete way forward, I think we need to start thinking regionally. Maybe Africa can have its own solution. We who are playing a part at the continental level, we have found it very useful that when you discuss matters with Namibia, Morocco, Tunisia, DRC, Ghana and countries that are within the continent, it is easier to

understand each other. So, when we set those goals, they seem to make more sense than setting goals that are so wide and so global, and then they become impossible to achieve.

As we move towards making global decisions, I think they should and ought to be guided by continental standards. This is so that as Kenya is going to these IPU sessions to discuss various global things, we need to have had our own sessions first, so that we can present our position as Africa and East Africa. For me, this will help drive more achievable goals that will help the world move forward. If we can set, say, 10 goals in Africa and we achieve five of them, as opposed to all these SDGs and then we are told only 17 per cent have been achieved, I think we will be making a greater way in terms of progress.

My proposal, as I second this report, is to say that it is not over until it is over. We have many decades to go before maybe this world runs out of energy or something crazy happens. So, we must keep the pressure to eradicate poverty, push for peace and keep crime down across the world and to reduce this xenophobia that is developing around the world.

Parliaments across the world hold the power to guide in terms of legislation on where we need to see our world going. We need to see a world where it is possible for our children and their grandchildren to move freely, to be able to set up their lives wherever they want and to make economic contributions where they are found.

That is within the power of parliaments across the world. We should not give up, but continue pushing for a better Africa and world, so that the world that we live in, where we found it, we can live it at a better position.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those many remarks, I beg to second this Motion.

Hon. Senators, I do not have any indication on my dashboard of any Senator wishing to contribute on this Motion.

Clerk, do we have the requisite number for me to put the question?

Okay, so then I will allow the Mover to reply and thereafter, because we do not have the requisite numbers to vote, we will defer the putting of the question.

Hon. Speaker, I move to reply and pursuant to Standing Order No.66 (3) , I request the deferment of the putting of the question on the Motion to a later date.

The putting of the question is hereby deferred.

Next Order.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the Motion- THAT the Senate notes the report of the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference held in Sydney, Australia on 3rd to 8th November, 2024, laid on the table of the Senate on Tuesday, 22nd July 2025.

I request Sen. Muma to second.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to second this Motion. This was a conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). I have read through the report and basically, this was a procedural Motion that discussed the structure of the CPA and made some decisions on how it should be structured.

I beg to second. Thank you.

Hon. Senators, I will now propose the question.

There being no indication of an hon. Senator wishing to speak to this Motion, I will ask the Mover to reply.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish to reply and request that the putting of the question be deferred to the next sitting.

Very well, the putting of the question is hereby deferred.

Let us go to the next Order. Sen. Hezena Lemaletian, proceed. This business is deferred.

Let us move on to the next Order. Hon. Senators, that was the last Order in today’s Order Paper. Therefore, I request all of us to be upstanding.