By Staff Repoter | Wajir Today | Monday, 9 February 2026
Kenya’s governors have issued a dramatic ultimatum to the Senate, threatening to boycott appearances before a powerful watchdog committee amid explosive claims of extortion, intimidation and political witch-hunts by a group of senators.
Meeting under the Council of Governors (CoG) in Kilifi County on Monday, the county bosses resolved to stay away from the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) until their grievances are addressed through what they term a “structured engagement” with Senate leadership.
CoG chairperson and Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi accused certain senators of running an extortion racket targeting governors and senior county officials during committee appearances.
“The Council of Governors notes with great concern the continuous and escalating extortion, political witch-hunt, harassment, intimidation and humiliation of Excellency Governors by certain Senators when they appear before the CPAC committee,” Abdullahi said.
Although he did not name the legislators, Abdullahi revealed that four senators are allegedly notorious for extorting and manipulating proceedings, adding that the governors are ready to submit evidence and identities of those involved if required.
The governors are now demanding the immediate reconstitution of the CPAC and the launch of an independent investigation into the conduct of the four unnamed senators.
In a further escalation, Abdullahi said governors will no longer submit to repeated summons by the committee, insisting that appearances will only be made once per audit cycle.
“We note with concern that Governors are required to appear several times before this committee to discuss investment issues and various funds in counties, municipalities and hospitals. Governors have therefore resolved that they will only appear once for every audit cycle,” he said.
The standoff deepens a long-running turf war between the Senate and county chiefs, with governors previously accusing senators of extortion, and senators countering that governors are seeking to dodge accountability.
The county bosses also accused some senators of turning committee sessions into public spectacles by installing cameras to live-stream proceedings and push what they described as misleading narratives aimed at humiliating governors.
Despite the hardline stance, the CoG insisted it remains committed to accountability and prudent use of public resources.
“Oversight must be exercised lawfully, ethically and without abuse of office,” Abdullahi said.
Separately, the governors raised alarm over the worsening drought across the country, particularly in arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) counties, calling for urgent scaling up of humanitarian assistance.
“We call upon the Government, development partners and all stakeholders to enhance efforts to avert loss of lives, livestock and livelihoods,” Abdullahi said.
The boycott threat sets the stage for a high-stakes confrontation between the Senate and county governments, with major implications for oversight of billions of shillings in devolved funds.
