Senators Ledama Olekina, Stewart Madzayo, Kipchumba Murkomen, Johnson Sakaja, Kithure Kindiki and Enoch Wambua outside the Senate on July.4, 2020.
Senators Ledama Olekina, Stewart Madzayo, Kipchumba Murkomen, Johnson Sakaja, Kithure Kindiki and Enoch Wambua outside the Senate on July.4, 2020/COURTESY

Senators on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on CoG boss Wycliffe Oparanya over his statement calling on the shutdown of counties.

The lawmakers termed Oparanya a traitor, a liar and who is leading a ‘club of boys’ hell-bent on attacking a House that defends devolution.

They said it was the COG under Oparanya that went to bed with the Executive betraying Senators who had been fighting for higher allocation to the devolved units.

 
 
 

“I want to tell my governor Kivutha Kibwana, if you close level 4 hospitals in Makueni, we will impeach you. It is an impeachable offence for any governor to take instructions from another governor and shutdown hospitals,” Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr said.

Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula said the move was a clear abuse of authority.

He said the CoG is not the employer of any employees of counties.

“Governors cannot even send a sweeper on compulsory leave. We have seen the chair of CoG overplaying himself with powers he doesn’t have, abusing senators as he wishes,” Wetangula said.

“I want to stand here and urge members to take great exception of this reckless misadventure by the CoG chair and remind him that he should bring his governors to order in respect of accountability.”

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua said Oparanya is not new to reckless statements. 

“We are not just leading with a failed leader at CoG we are dealing with a big question without an answer. He appeared before ad hoc committee on MES and made a very weird statement,” he said.

The senator said Governor Oparanya went to the bed with executive and sold the counties at Sh316.5 billion.

“Oparanya is hell-bent on calling on the senate to entrench marginalisation of Wajir, Mandera among others because he is going to bed with the Executive,” Wambua said.

Narok Senator Ledama Olekina said the CoG is a club of boys and has no powers.

“If you make somebody a prefect, they even forget they were students. Why can’t CoG sit and discussed these issues of boundaries? If they care so much about the people, resolve the boundaries,” he said.

They are always finding faults in a House that defends them.

Migori Senator Ochillo Ayacko termed Oparanya a ‘gangster’. 

Oparanya had earlier announced that from Thursday all county services will be paralysed across the country after the senators failed to pass the revenue sharing formula.

The CoG chairman said county health facilities will not permit any new inpatient admissions.

“They will only provide minimal outpatient services,” he said.

Oparanya said all non-essential services will be suspended and county employees advised to proceed on leave for two weeks.

He said county staff, including frontline health workers, have not been paid for three months.

Oparanya said that 47 devolved units are suffering and the only way to end their pain is for the National Treasury to release funds for running operations.