National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi faces parliamentary arrest and sanctions, including censure proceedings, for failing to honour MPs' invitations as they link him to the impending questionable sale of Uchumi Hyper Land and the unlawful occupation of College of Insurance land.
Last month, Principal Secretary in the same ministry, Chris Kiptoo, also attracted the wrath of the National Assembly’s Special Funds Accounts Committee after ignoring 16 of its summonses.
The members of the Finance and National Planning Committee of the National Assembly, which oversees the National Treasury, revealed how CS Mbadi has frustrated the committee’s constitutional mandate by blatantly ignoring invitations “on matters of national importance.”
Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning John Mbadi.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
Having heard enough of CS Mbadi’s contempt of parliament, Molo MP Kuria Kimani, who chairs the Finance and National Planning Committee, warned that it is either CS Mbadi honours the summons that the committee has issued or face arrest, fine or censure motion.
“We are in the broad-based government but everyone should do their job. CS Mbadi should allow us to do our job. It cannot be that he finds time to attend committee meetings in the Senate and others here but when it comes to ours, he is unavailable,” said Mr Kimani.
Mr Kimani further revealed that since CS Mbadi was appointed to the Cabinet in August 2024, “he has appeared before this committee only once, “and that shows you the kind of CS he is, completely out of touch with this committee’s responsibility.”
The only time CS Mbadi appeared before the committee, according to the Molo MP, was during the consideration of the matter of the establishment of the East African Development Bank.
“It should be noted that during this meeting, CS Mbadi dismissed a report on the EAC bank generated by the National Treasury. He promised to provide a proper report in three months and almost a year down the line, he hasn’t done it,” said Mr Kimani.
National Treasury CS John Mbadi.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation
“We are deeply disappointed with CS Mbadi because he has made our committee unable to discharge its mandate,” said the Molo MP as Kitui Rural MP David Mwalika wondered whether skipping the committee meetings is the “kind of expertise that led to his poaching from ODM.”
“CS Mbadi is an expert from ODM donated to the UDA administration to change how things are done in government. It is important to note that before he got appointed to the Cabinet, the National Treasury Principal Secretary never failed to honour invitations. But the PS is no longer appearing,” said Mr Mwalika.
Article 125 of the Constitution and Standing Order 191 (1) of the National Assembly Standing Orders state that committees of parliament shall enjoy and exercise all the powers and privileges bestowed on parliament by the Constitution and statute.
This includes the power to summon any person, including a CS, to appear before it for the purposes of giving evidence or providing information, enforce the attendance of witnesses and examine them under oath, affirmation or otherwise.
The committees also have the responsibility to compel the production of documents, request papers and documents from the government and the public and issue a commission or request to examine witnesses abroad.
Standing Order 191 (3) states that the summons shall be issued by the Clerk on the direction of the Speaker or the Chairperson of a committee acting in accordance with a resolution of the committee if a witness fails to honour invitations three times.
“The summons shall be served by a member of staff or a police officer who is duly authorised by the Clerk by delivering a copy of the summons to the person mentioned in the summons,” the House rules state.
John Mbadi, the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
On Tuesday, CS Mbadi was required before the committee to respond to issues regarding the impending sale of Uchumi Langata Hyper Land LR. No. 209/12593, a public land, under an insolvency petition of 2018.
Soy MP David Kiplagat, in a request for statement from CS Mbadi through the chairman Finance and National Planning Committee, had demanded to know the status of the land claiming that it was facing impending sale and that, being a public land, Kenyans will lose out.
Baringo County Woman Representative Jematia Sergon had also demanded a statement from the CS regarding the unlawful occupation of a public land in Nairobi- LR. No. 209/10210- which belongs to the College of Insurance.
The college land is one of the proceeds from the Insurance Fund that also hosts the Edge Hotel and Conference Centre in Nairobi’s South C area.
Other matters that were also affected by CS Mbadi’s nonappearance before the committee include a request for a statement by Kisii County Woman Representative Dorice Donya regarding unspent National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) for Kisii County for the financial year 2023/24.
There is also a pending statement by Kilifi North MP Ken Chonga regarding the deplorable, delayed payment of pensions under the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation (NCWPC) staff Superannuation Scheme.
Also affected by CS Mbadi’s no-show is the request for a statement by Mwingi Central MP Dr Gideon Mulyungi regarding disputed tax arrears owed to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) by the National Government- Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) committees.
