- The governor was supposed to appear before Senators in regard to a petition concerning access to title deeds for properties bought at Jamii Bora Estate, Kisaju, Kajiado County.
- Thangwa expressed his disappointment that Lenku does not take the committee seriously.
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Kajiado County Governor Joseph Ole Lenku has been fined Sh500,000 for failure to appear before the Roads, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee of the Senate.
Committee chair Karungo Thangwa said the fine was suspended until Thursday, November 30, 2023, at 11am.
"Kajiado County Governor, Joseph Ole Lenku is hereby fined Sh500,000 for failure to appear before this committee after summons had been issued,” Thangwa ruled.
The committee was supposed to meet with the Governor in regard to a petition concerning access to title deeds for properties bought at Jamii Bora Estate, Kisaju, Kajiado County.
On July 19, 2023, the committee received a submission from the County Government of Kajiado which did not address the issues sought by members.
On September 26, 2023, the committee wrote a reminder letter to the Governor to submit a comprehensive response to the issues sought by the Committee;
At its meeting held on October 31, 2023, the committee was informed that the Governor had not responded to a reminder request to submit a comprehensive response to the information sought by members.
The committee resolved to invite the Governor to a meeting of the Committee on November 14, 2023, to respond to the issues addressed in the letter.
At its meeting held on November 14, 2023, Lenku failed to appear before the Committee and the Committee resolved to summon the Governor to appear before members on November 27, 2023.
“We should give the Governor of Kajiado the last chance to appear before the committee. I am reliably informed that the Governor was in the Parliament precincts but he was taken ill and rushed to hospital for medical attention,” said the vice chair Peris Tobiko during the committee’s meeting on November 21, 2023.
Thangwa expressed his disappointment saying Lenku does not take the committee seriously.
He said the governor should be reprimanded for his failure to appear before members and provide documents as requested.
Nairobi Senator, Edwin Sifuna said the Kajiado Governor needed to be fined on two counts; failure to appear before members and failure to produce documents as ordered by the committee.
He however said the fine should be suspended and the governor given a last chance to appear before the committee in person.