Mombasa CSOs demand transparency from MCAs amid looming legal action over budget
The next meeting will be on Thursday, when the county assembly is expected to respond to the demands by the CSOs for an inclusive and lawful budgeting process.
Civil society organisations (CSOs) in Mombasa on Tuesday held a tense meeting with members of the Mombasa County Assembly, led by Majority Leader Athman Mwamiri, to raise concerns over the 2025/2026 budget estimates, which they claim were developed without adequate public participation.
The meeting followed last Friday's dramatic protest, where CSO members stormed the county assembly buildings demanding accountability and transparency in the budgeting process.
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“Today, we were meeting pursuant to the promise we were given last Friday. CSOs, together with residents of Mombasa, were here last week asking why no public participation was carried out in the Mombasa Finance Estimate Budget for the Financial Year 2025/2026,” said Zedekiah Adika, a CSO representative.
Adika stated that they held lengthy discussions with several MCAs, including the majority leader and the clerk of the assembly.
“We have made it clear that there are fault lines in the process of developing the budget for the next financial year. They have indicated they will consult internally and respond to us on Thursday,” he said.
He further warned that if the process is not corrected, the organisations and residents will explore legal avenues.
“We are not backing down. CSOs will take necessary legal action if need be. But we remain slightly hopeful that the committee will rework the document and return it to the executive to conduct proper public participation,” he said.
Adika emphasised that the evidence provided by both sides showed discrepancies.
“We presented the evidence one by one. Our goal is to ensure that both the leaders and the community uphold the rule of law. They have said they are committed to a clear process, and we are giving them the benefit of the doubt,” he said.
“Our people only demand proper service delivery and legitimate procedural steps. We would rather not waste two million shillings going to court, which is just 200 metres away from the assembly building, if the process can simply be corrected,” he stated.
He said the executive failed to subject the budget estimates to public scrutiny.
“We were shown a document indicating public participation was done in February, but that was for the County Fiscal Strategy Paper, not the budget estimates. They could not have conducted both at once. Also, the annual budget plan for public participation, which should have happened in September, happened this year. We wonder why,” Adika noted.
Veteran activist Khelef Khalifa noted that budget issues remain contentious countrywide.
“What we want is genuine consultation between us and the county government, especially the assembly. There must be transparency. A lot happens without our knowledge,” he said.
“Every year, the budget is passed, yet we still have potholes and garbage on our roads. We are a port city, but we are excluded from everything. Everything is run from Nairobi,” he added.
According to Khelef, this can only be changed through collaboration between the county government, CSOs, and Mombasa residents.
Another activist, Walid Sketty, expressed concern over the presence of security agents at the assembly.
“When we arrived today, the county assembly was barricaded by several bodyguards. We saw police officers with batons. I don’t know who invited them. We came peacefully. Why are we being blocked from accessing the assembly?” he asked.
“We do not fear the police. We have been beaten several times before. Mombasa is one of the leading counties in own-source revenue. If you collect the most money, then lead in transparency, too. This money is not yours; it belongs to the people. You will come and go, but the public remains,” he insisted.
Walid affirmed their stance.
“We have agreed that this document is illegal. It did not meet the public participation threshold and should be returned to the executive to follow due process. Otherwise, we shall reject it entirely,” he said.
In response, Majority Leader Athman Mwamiri confirmed that the assembly had engaged the CSOs last Friday and asked them to return for dialogue.
“We have discussed and acknowledged that there are some aspects of the process that were not properly handled,” he admitted.
“As an assembly, our role is to go back to the drawing board. We have agreed that before we proceed to validation and public participation, we must involve the County Budget and Economic Forum, the CEC for Finance, and the Chief Officer, along with CSO representatives,” Athman said.
He confirmed that while the executive met the April 30 deadline to submit the budget estimates to the assembly, there was no sitting on May 1 as it was a public holiday, and CSOs followed up on May 2.
“The document was tabled before the Finance Committee today. However, we agreed that before the committee proceeds, we should hold a roundtable discussion with CSOs to address any contentious issues before time runs out,” he said.
The next meeting will be on Thursday, when the county assembly is expected to respond to the demands by the CSOs for an inclusive and lawful budgeting process.
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