Senators Grill Kitui Governor Over Soaring Pending Bills

The Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance and Budget has questioned Kitui Governor Dr. Julius Malombe over the county’s ballooning pending bills, raising concerns about accountability and transparency.

The move follows a statement by Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua, who asked the committee to reveal the total value of unpaid bills owed by the Kitui County Government. Senator Wambua also demanded an explanation of the steps being taken to verify the legitimacy of the bills and to guard against fraudulent or inflated claims.

During a meeting held in Kitui Town earlier today, Senators expressed dissatisfaction with the Governor’s decision to form a special team, the Kitui County Pending Bills Review Committee (PBRC), to handle the verification process.

They questioned the credibility of the committee’s findings, noting that it was appointed by the Governor and lacked independent oversight.

“The Constitution is the framework that guides governors. Pending bills must be verified by an independent body, and that is the Office of the Auditor General,” said Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale.

Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka echoed this, warning against governors taking over auditing roles that are constitutionally reserved for the Auditor General. He added that only the Auditor General is legally authorised to approve findings related to pending bills.

The Senators warned that allowing the governor-appointed committee to verify bills could open the door to selective payments and possible bias, especially against creditors not aligned with the current county leadership.

In response, Governor Malombe said the PBRC had received and reviewed all claims, aiming to ensure only genuine bills were settled. He noted, however, that the county faced delays in budget disbursements, underperformance in revenue collection, and undelivered grants, which had hindered the settlement of some debts.

“The Pending Bills Review Committee received claims amounting to Sh2.56 billion. Of this, Sh1.43 billion was approved for payment, while bills worth Sh1.12 billion were recommended for further verification and valuation,” said Governor Malombe.

The Senate Committee also met with Kitui County Assembly members, led by Speaker Hon. Kevin Katisya, and commended them for settling all their pending bills.