The Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has ordered Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to arrest and produce Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo before the committee after the governor failed to honour a summons to appear on Monday.
The committee, chaired by Senator Moses Kajwang, issued the order after Governor Guyo failed to attend the session scheduled for July 27 at 2:00 p.m., despite being required to appear before lawmakers.
The governor had written to the committee requesting to be excused, citing prior official engagements within Isiolo County.
”We regret to inform you that His Excellency will be unable to attend the meeting on the scheduled date due to prior official engagements that had been confirmed before the receipt of the invitation. In view of this, we request the rescheduling of the invitation,” the governor’s letter stated.
The committee members however questioned the timing of the communication after it emerged that both the committee and the Office of the Auditor-General received the letter at around 12:30 p.m. on the day of the scheduled appearance.
Senator Kajwang,who is the chair of the committee criticised what he described as poor communication and a lack of cooperation from the county leadership, saying the governor’s conduct had hampered the committee’s oversight role.
”The communication process was flawed, and there has been clear non-cooperation from the governor’s office. This committee cannot continue to tolerate repeated failure to honour Senate summons,” Kajwang said.
The committee subsequently directed Inspector General Kanja to execute the arrest warrant and ensure Governor Guyo is brought before the Senate.
Kajwang noted that this was not the first time the committee had taken such action. He recalled that during a sitting on July 9, PAC had also ordered the governor’s arrest after he failed to appear, but the warrant was never enforced.
”We need an explanation as to why the earlier warrant was not executed. This time, the Inspector General must ensure the governor is brought before this committee,” Kajwang directed.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee is investigating issues raised in the Auditor-General’s reports on the financial management of Isiolo County. The committee has maintained that the attendance of governors and accounting officers is essential to enable effective parliamentary oversight.
