Governors are pushing back strongly against what they term as “selective oversight” by the national government and Parliament, accusing President William Ruto’s administration of systematically undermining devolution by subjecting counties to excessive scrutiny while failing to hold the executive accountable.
Speaking during the Second Kenya Devolution Support Program (KDSP) conference in Naivasha, the Council of Governors (CoG) warned that continued bias in oversight is eroding public trust in the devolved system and sabotaging service delivery.
Nyeri Governor and CoG Deputy Chair Mutahi Kahiga voiced the collective frustration of county chiefs, lamenting that governors are subjected to double scrutiny by both County Assemblies and the Senate, unlike other top public officers.
“There is no other officer in this country who is more oversighted than a governor. But who oversight the rest of these officers? The president should be overseen by Parliament, but your guess is as good as mine—they’re in bed together,” said Kahiga.
This renewed pushback comes in the wake of the arrests of Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya and Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi over alleged misappropriation of public funds. Governors say these arrests reflect a deeper agenda of vilifying counties while corruption continues unabated at the national level.
“We are being oversighted heavily yet we only manage 15% of the national budget. It’s time for accountability to be equally applied,” Kahiga added.
The CoG now demands the reinstatement of a fully-fledged Ministry of Devolution to safeguard the gains made since the 2010 Constitution ushered in the new governance structure. The current arrangement, where devolution falls under a downgraded department, is seen as inadequate.
Governors also raised alarm over chronic delays in the disbursement of funds by the National Treasury. According to Mandera Governor and CoG Chair Abdullahi Ahmed, the national government disbursement of funds has been very erratic—rendering timely execution of projects nearly impossible.
“We share in the frustrations of our development partners. The disbursement of funds has become erratic and has paralyzed essential services in many counties,” he said.
In a further escalation, governors also slammed Members of Parliament over their aggressive push to control the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF), arguing it is unconstitutional and falls outside MPs’ mandate.
“MPs have three roles: oversight, representation, and legislation. CDF is a national government function and should not be used to duplicate or usurp county mandates,” said Kahiga.
Governors now call for a rebalancing of accountability frameworks across all levels of government. They insist that both the Executive and Parliament must be subjected to the same rigorous oversight imposed on counties.
As tensions mount between the national and county governments, the future of Kenya’s devolution model appears increasingly contested, with county leaders warning that unless structural inequalities are addressed, the spirit of the Constitution is at risk of being lost.
