Sifuna Blasts Mbadi And Atandi Of Betraying Devolution
News Updated: 10 June 2026 16:49 EAT
Nairobi Senator who is also the Linda Mwananchi faction Leader Edwin Sifuna speaking during the senate sessions this afternoon
mounted a strong defence of devolution on the Senate floor and accused senior ODM figures serving in government of failing to deliver commitments tied to county financing. The Nairobi Senator framed the dispute as one that has placed him at odds within his own party and linked it directly to promises he said had been made to support counties.
“Speaker, these days sections of the media in this country call me—call me the ‘embattled’ Secretary General of ODM. And uh, the matter that is before consideration uh, this morning on the Senate floor is part of where my problems began… one of the critical things or provisions of that… was that a promise was made to my party and my former party leader… that in the financial year 2025/2026, we were expecting that counties would receive 450 billion Kenya shillings in allocation.”
Sifuna said his criticism intensified after political meetings and public declarations appeared to support the KSh450 billion target but the figure did not materialise in the final county allocation process. He argued that implementation had lagged behind political commitments.
“I remember saying on the floor of this house that I was extremely embarrassed… my colleagues in this house were present at KICC, clapping and ululating when the Head of State was saying counties are going to receive 450 billion Kenya shillings, and yet we could not see the money… my entire tribulations and trials in the ODM party are because of my continued insistence on the implementation of the promises that were made.”
The senator directed criticism at Treasury Cabinet Secretary and Budget Committee Chair , saying ODM leaders occupying influential government positions had not defended the devolution agenda strongly enough.
“What is most embarrassing is that Baba is being betrayed by his own people… we thought, as members of ODM, that after we have the head of Treasury coming from ODM and is a former chairman of ODM—shame on you, Honorable Mbadi… It is even further annoying that the chair of budget in the National Assembly, Samuel Atandi… is the one betraying Baba’s dream to see 450 billion Kenya shillings going to devolved units.”
Sifuna criticised the mediation outcome between the two Houses of Parliament and rejected arguments that revenue shortfalls and national obligations justified limiting county allocations.
“Look at the reasoning of the National Assembly as to why we cannot be given 450 billion as a family of devolution… they are saying revenue shortfalls… and that allocation of 420 billion was informed by prioritizing expenditures of national interest… When the National Assembly defines national interest, the counties don’t feature anywhere as an ingredient of national interest.”
He argued that Senate proposals had been backed by detailed justification including county salary obligations and implementation costs associated with national programmes.
“These guys just do voodoo math. They just pull numbers out of the air. Whereas the Senate sits down and tells them point by point why we need this extra allocation… county governments are in arrears in implementing the third and fourth remuneration and benefits review cycle… amounting to 10 billion Kenya shillings.”
The senator also questioned national programmes that counties are required to co-finance, arguing that some county governments have raised concerns about projects being implemented regardless of local priorities.
“We gave another reason… joint funding of national government programs that counties are expected to finance… We have had governors such as the Governor from Makueni appearing before us and telling us that they specifically told the national government that they did not need that county aggregation and industrial parks… but because the national government has said they have to be built… he has to accept and co-finance it.”
Sifuna further challenged the credibility of county disbursement mechanisms, saying approved schedules had repeatedly failed to guarantee actual transfers.
“We in this Senate pass a very useless bill called the Disbursement Schedule every single year. Not a single year has the National Treasury… ever honored the Disbursement Schedule that we pass in this house… sometimes you hear senior people in government saying counties are up to date with disbursement and yet county governors come and tell us a very different story.”
On the constitutional formula for county allocations, Sifuna argued that outdated audited revenue figures continue to affect county shares and said current financial data should carry greater weight.
“The National Assembly uses four methods to deny counties money… Article 203 says counties should not receive less than 15 percent of revenue that has been received, audited and approved… what they do is they ensure that they are never up to date with the audited reports… if they were using current audited accounts… you would see the revenue of counties going up.”
The senator also raised concerns over borrowing and debt servicing, saying counties remain constrained while national government spending decisions continue shaping available revenue.
“The only level of government that is able to borrow, especially from foreign markets, is the national government… but when it comes to calculation of shareable revenue, first the national government takes away what they call national interest and obligations in repayment of debt… this issue of borrowing is the one that is also killing devolution.”
During his remarks, Sifuna made comments suggesting government spending priorities should be scrutinised more closely, using State House renovations as an example before later withdrawing a specific claim after being challenged on the floor.
“Can you imagine… somebody replaces the roof of State House every two weeks because he has the money… If he doesn't like the color… somebody just decides… After a point of order, I wanted it to sound ridiculous so that it can actually pierce the conscience of the members of this house… Let me not say every two weeks, Madam Speaker, because I don't have that evidence.”
The exchange closed with Sifuna withdrawing the specific allegation while maintaining his broader criticism on public expenditure and repeating that his opposition within ODM stems from his insistence that devolution commitments be implemented.
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FELIX MAKONA
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