Africa-Press – Kenya. Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi has defended his decision to appear before the Senate Standing Committee on Public Accounts, saying the county government bears direct responsibility for accounting for public resources.
Wamatangi said it was his interpretation of the Constitution that the duty to account for funds allocated to Kiambu residents rests squarely with the county government and the governor as its chief executive.
“I want to be on record because of the comments that have been made by Senators that, as the governor of Kiambu, it is my individual interpretation of the law and of the Constitution that the responsibility to account for the resources allocated to the people of Kiambu is distinct and lies squarely on the county government itself and the governor,” he said.
He added that the Constitution recognises the governor as the county’s chief executive officer, leaving the administration with no option but to appear before the Senate when required.
“That is why I have asked my team to come so that we can deal with the issues that have been raised by the Auditor-General,” Wamatangi told the committee.
The governor expressed hope that any institutional differences between the Senate and the Council of Governors would be resolved to allow smooth progress of devolution oversight.
He described the Senate and the Council of Governors as key pillars of devolution, crediting the Senate with supporting counties, particularly in resource allocation battles.
Wamatangi assured senators of the Council of Governors’ continued respect for the Upper House.
“Our appearance here is not by mistake; it is by intention and by decision, and we shall appear again when required to account for the resources allocated to the people of Kiambu,” he said.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei praised the governor’s leadership, saying Kiambu had experienced improved stability under Wamatangi.
“Kiambu has never been stable as a county government until the era of Kimani Wamatangi,” Cherargei said.
The senator added that the Senate’s role is oversight rather than political persecution.
He cited progress in early childhood development centres, the county feeding programme, and health sector investments as indicators of improved service delivery.
Cherargei urged the governor to remain focused on serving residents and to ignore political distractions, noting that oversight findings are based strictly on audit reports.
Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang said the county was now in a better position for objective scrutiny compared to previous administrations.
Kajwang’ noted that earlier governors had faced questions over various expenditures but said the committee was now focused solely on Wamatangi’s tenure.
He pointed to reported growth in Kiambu’s own-source revenue and suggested the committee would be keen to understand the drivers behind the increase.
“If on-source revenue has grown by two billion over a period of three years, we would want to understand what changed,” Kajwang’ said.
