National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi came under fire on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, from Senate leadership for allegedly skipping a scheduled plenary session.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who also serves as the Senate Deputy Minority Whip, criticised Mbadi, saying his excuse for missing the session lacked merit.
Senate Majority Whip Boni Khalwale also condemned Mbadi for failing to appear before the Senate, accusing him of developing a pattern of disregarding the House.
Mbadi had written to Senate Speaker Amason Kingi on the morning of May 7, informing him that he would not attend the session due to prior engagements.
However, Sifuna argued that the CS should have notified the House well in advance of his absence.
"Yesterday, just before the game between Inter Milan and Barcelona, I saw the CS for Treasury on Citizen TV. He has time to appear on Citizen TV but not before this House,” Sifuna protested.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Sifuna emphasised that Cabinet Secretaries must remain accountable to the people’s representatives by honouring invitations to appear before Parliament.
“I refused to watch that interview and switched to the football match because I was expecting him here. The conversations that matter to me from that CS are the ones that happen here,” he said.
“Cabinet Secretaries must notify the House in good time if they are unable to appear. Writing on the same day is absolute contempt and must be called out.”
Sifuna, who also serves as ODM Secretary General, declared that he would not defend any CS who skips Senate sessions, regardless of party affiliation.
“For as long as I remain the Senator for Nairobi, and based on the oath I took on my first day in this House, we are not going to protect or babysit any minister. It doesn’t matter whether they come from ODM or elsewhere—they are here to serve the public,” he added.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale also took issue with Mbadi’s absence, noting that he had similarly skipped a Senate Finance and Budget Committee meeting on Tuesday.
“I’m equally concerned. I sit on the Senate Finance and Budget Committee, and the CS did the same to us yesterday, claiming he was attending a Cabinet meeting. Yet you can see he wasn’t at Cabinet but at a rally,” Khalwale remarked.
The UDA Senator stressed that Parliament must hold Cabinet Secretaries accountable for failing to attend Senate sessions.
"If this Parliament does not rise to the occasion, what is happening in this broad-based government will be no different from what we saw during the Grand Coalition,” Khalwale warned.
