Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has questioned the decision by seven Cabinet Secretaries to accompany President William Ruto to New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), after some of them missed scheduled appearances before the Senate.

The issues emerged during Wednesday’s Senate sitting on September 23 when Speaker Amason Kingi informed the Senators that several Cabinet Secretaries who were expected to respond to questions before the House were unavailable as they were in New York with the President. The Senate had scheduled questions for Cabinet Secretaries on Wednesday according to the State Department for Parliamentary Affairs.

Kingi said that four Cabinet Secretaries had been scheduled to appear before the House; Education CS Julius Ogamba, Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs CS Hassan Joho, ICT and Digital Economy CS William Kabogo and Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports CS Salim Mvurya. The Speaker said Ogamba, Joho and Kabogo were accompanying Ruto in New York and as such would not be available to answer questions in the Senate. Mvurya was the only one among the four expected to appear.

Khalwale said Senators understood that the Cabinet Secretaries were accompanying the President but questioned if seven CSs had to accompany Ruto.

‘While we agree with you that the hands of the Senators are tied because of the ministers accompanying the President at the United Nations General Assembly, but let it also be on record that we are not comfortable with that,’ Khalwale said.

The senator questioned the roles being performed by the Cabinet Secretaries in New York and the effect their absence could have on government business in Kenya.

‘Kenya is not a failed state where 7 Cabinet Secretaries can accompany the Head of State to the UN General Assembly. The Parliament of Kenya should be disturbed because this not only has a bearing on the efficiency of how our Government is run; it also has a financial implication,’ Khalwale said.

The Senator specifically referred to return air tickets, the presence of principal secretaries and other senior officials, as well as security and related costs. Ruto is in New York for the 81 st UN General Assembly, where he has held bilateral meetings and participated in engagements on trade, investment, technology and regional security.

On Monday, the President met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with discussions covering the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), artificial intelligence, critical minerals, nuclear energy and regional security. The Senate’s official calendar lists September 23 as a sitting day, while the State Department for Parliamentary Affairs had scheduled Cabinet Secretaries to respond to questions on the same date. The absence of the three CSs means questions directed to them could not be addressed during the scheduled session and will have to be handled at a subsequent sitting in accordance with parliamentary procedures.