CIC warns governors against ignoring Senate summons

The Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) has warned governors that they risk breaking the law for disobeying summons by senators.

CIC chairperson Charles Nyachae, in a letter on Thursday, said that though the commission agrees with the general sentiments expressed by the governors in their statement regarding the misuse of powers by the Senate, it objects to the declaration that governors would ignore summons by the Senate.

Mr Nyachae quoted a High Court judgment on a constitutional petition that he said stated that constitutional powers must be respected by all public officials at all times.

“Governors and the County Executive Members of Finance should nonetheless honour the issued summons and raise the question of (the) unconstitutionality of the matters raised or the process relating to making the summons while citing the direction issued in the High Court judgment,” Mr Nyachae said in his letter to Council of Governors chairman Governor Isaac Ruto dated August 15.

'MISUSING POWERS'

The group recently issued a statement through daily newspapers declaring that county bosses would no longer honour summons by the Senate that they deemed to violate the spirit and letter of the Constitution.

The governors, in the statement signed by Governor Ruto and its legal affairs chairman, Governor Peter Munya, had accused the Senate of misusing powers to summon the county bosses on matters relating to financial mismanagement in their respective counties.

The group was especially concerned with the summons issued to the governors or the county executives before the Auditor-General's report had been considered and debated county assemblies.

According to governors, such summons would not be honoured because the Seante appears to be taking over the role of the county assemblies by the Senate.