Uproar as Treasury CS Mbadi fails to appear before Senate

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has run into trouble with senators for pulling a no-show stunt at the Senate.

The CS on Wednesday morning failed to show up before the Senators to answer various questions raised by the lawmakers which angered the senators.

Some of the questions Mbadi was to respond to include the failure of the e-Citizen digital platform to process payments made to some Government institutions, financing and utilisation of the National Government development budget for the FY 2022-2023 and delayed processing of pension benefits to retired civil servants.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna accused his former ODM chairman John Mbadi of adopting 'bad behavior' from the Kenya Kwanza regime.

"I'm very shocked. We woke up very early in the morning to come attend this session. The questions we were to ask some of them were years old. He has become a proper Kenya Kwanza CS who has no respect for this House. We cannot accept this. He has to show respect for this House," he said.

Nairobi Senator @edwinsifuna: The failure by the National Treasury and Economic Planning CS John Mbadi to appear before the Senate is unacceptable. He has to show respect for this House. #SenateLive pic.twitter.com/7RE6sAEDfe

— Senate of Kenya (@Senate_KE) September 18, 2024

However, Majority Leader Aaron Cheruyiot argued that Nairobi Senator was disrespecting the Kenya Kwanza government.

"I have been in record bashing Ministers who fail to appear before this house. But when Senator Sifuna wants to leave it on record that CS Mbadi has become a proper Kenya kwanza CS who has no respect for this house, I cannot allow him to say that. He is disparaging the CS," he argued.

Supporting Sifuna's statement, Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua alleged that it was a fact that the CS skipped summons before the Senate.

"It is a statement of fact that the Kenya Kwanza administration is ill-mannered. This administration has refused many times to appear before the senate and we are saying the CS Treasury should not go and be like them," he added.

Nominated Senator Catherine Mumma also expressed her concerns over Mbadi's decision to skip the session.

"It is not acceptable that the CS Treasury can choose to send a letter saying he cannot show up. We are asking him very pertinent questions," she added.

Senate Deputy Speaker Kathuri Murungi who chaired the session agreed with the house that it was ill-mannered for the CS to send a letter of not appearing before the senators in the morning.

"It is not in order to receive a letter from CS John Mbadi when the session is on. The Senate can revoke Standing Order 51 (d) to censure the CS for failing to appear before this House without giving a probable cause," he explained.