The Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare has intensified its investigation into the alleged job scam involving First Choice Recruitment and Consultancy Agency, ordering the arrest of its Director, Judy Chepchirchir.

The proposal for her arrest, made by Sen Alexander Mundigi (Embu), was seconded by Sen Mohammed Faki (Mombasa), who also recommended that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) initiate criminal proceedings against Chepchirchir for defying the Committee’s summons.

The Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare has today imposed a fine of Kshs 500,000 on Isiolo Governor Abdi Ibrahim Hassan for ignoring summons to appear to address allegations of recruitment irregularities within his county government. The Committee has also directed the Inspector General of Police to arrest the Governor, in accordance with Section 19(3) of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act, to enforce his appearance before the committee to provide the information requested by the Senate.

The Nyamira County Government, led by Governor Amos Nyaribo, faced intense scrutiny from the Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare following reports of irregular employment and inflated wage bill ratios far exceeding statutory limits.

The probe was triggered by Sen. Okongo Mogeni’s (Nyamira) remarks on the floor of the Senate, where he highlighted the County Government’s overspending on personnel emoluments. The Controller of Budget’s (CoB) report for the 2023/24 Financial Year indicated that the county’s wage bill stood at 55.2% of total revenue.

The Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, chaired by Wajir Senator Sheikh Mohamed Abass, had a busy agenda, handling multiple inquiries, processing several statements, and reviewing various Bills.

The Committee held 32 sittings, between April and August 2024, in which it addressed various activities related to its mandate.

Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning, Hon. John Mbadi has told the Senate Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing that Adani Airport Holdings Limited submitted a Privately Initiated Proposal (PIP) to KAA in line with Section 40(1) of the PPP Act, 2021 and paid USD 50,000 appraisal fee as set in law.

This was in relation to a PIP submitted to the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) by Adani Airports for the development and expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

During the consideration of the supplementary estimates for the year 2024 for PAP by the Committee on Monetary and Financial Affairs, Senator Mungatana(Kenya), questioned why the AU budget was not being scrutinised by the representatives of the people of Africa, contrary to the the Constitutive Act of AU, the Protocol amending the Constitutive Act and the Rules of Procedure of PAP. 

He said that it was unfortunate that only the PAP budget was being brought before the committee for consideration and not all other organs of the AU as should be the case.