- He failed to turn up but instead sent Cabinet Administrative Secretary Hussein Dado.
- Committee, however, allowed CAS Dado to submit the response to the issues raised by the senators.
Interior CSFred Matiang’i has been summoned to appear before senators next Thursday after snubbing a House committee a record four times.
The Senate committee on Covid-19 issued a summons to the CS on Thursday after he failed to turn up and instead sent Cabinet Administrative Secretary Hussein Dado.
The CS did not communicate to the committee chaired by Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja why he was unable to honour their invite, a move that irked the lawmakers.
Senators Okong'o Omogeni (Nyamira), Michael Mbito (Trans Nzoia), Sylvia Kasanga (nominated), Mohamed Faki (Mombasa) and Abshiro Halakhe (nominated) described Matiang's conduct as unfortunate and demanded that he be compelled to appear.
“This is a big disappointment. I don’t see why it is a challenge because the CS was the one who proposed the date for this meeting,” Kasanga said.
Mbito said, “We have been postponing the meeting for long. This is not the way to go. We need to summon the Cabinet Secretary."
The situation worsened after the CAS told the committee that they had arranged with the CS that he (Matiang’i) attends the National Assembly committee while Dado meets the senators.
“If the CS was to come but he changed his mind and will appear before National Assembly then we cannot take it lightly. It is unfortunate that a meeting can be cancelled four times. We cannot do this back and forth game,” Sakaja said.
“I hereby direct that summons be issued that the CS appear before this committee after missing four meetings.”
The committee, however, allowed CAS Dado to submit the response to the issues raised by the senators, amongst others implementation of curfew by the police.
He told senators that 38 police officers were amongst 1,254 people arrested for violating curfew restrictions countrywide. The violations have been reported in 38 out of 47 counties.
Police, who are the main agency implementing the curfew, had arrested 10 Kenya Defense Force officers, four prison warders, three judicial officers and a National Intelligence Service officer.
Civilians, however, form the bulk of the offenders with 1,198 netted since the curfew was announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Four others from national government administration have also been arrested.
Edited by Henry Makori