Governor Ken Lusaka faced a stern grilling in the Senate on Monday as lawmakers questioned massive financial irregularities and underperformance in Bungoma County’s special funds.
The Senate Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds, chaired by Senator Peris Tobiko, took the governor to task over what it described as “disturbing” findings by the Auditor-General for the 2023/2024 financial year.
At the centre of the storm was the County’s Fiscal Local Authorities and Climate Action (FLoCA) Fund, where auditors uncovered an unreconciled KSh11 million variance in transfers and an extraordinary 90 per cent under-expenditure of the allocated budget.
“Why were these financial statements certified despite such glaring anomalies?” Senator Tobiko asked. “Why did the County Executive fail to release funds in time for proper absorption?”
Senator George Kinyua added fuel to the fire, accusing the Lusaka administration of presiding over a culture of loan default and neglect. He cited the Youth, Women Empowerment, Persons with Disabilities and Trade Development funds as examples of “money sitting idle while intended beneficiaries are abandoned.”
“There were zero recoveries in the Youth and Women Empowerment Fund, with some loans outstanding for four years,” he said. “You must act decisively or risk rendering these initiatives meaningless.”
Governor Lusaka admitted to the audit lapses but blamed them on delayed disbursements and bureaucratic procurement procedures. He said many beneficiaries wrongly perceive the revolving loans as grants.
“We have now drafted the Bungoma County Youth, Women and PWD Empowerment Bill, 2025, which introduces stronger recovery mechanisms,” he told the committee.
The exchange exposed the growing tension between governors and oversight bodies over accountability in devolved funds. For Bungoma, it raised a deeper question: whether devolution’s promise of empowerment is being quietly lost in paperwork and political excuses.
