The Bungoma County government has been put on the spot over the use of Ksh3.68 million to light a Christmas tree in 2019.
While appearing before the Senate’s Public Accounts Committee on Monday, February 2, 2026, Governor Kenneth Lusaka was grilled over the usage of funds in the county.
He was asked to explain how Ksh3.68 million was spent on a Christmas tree.
“You spent KSh 3.68 million for a Christmas tree celebration, Governor. You see things like this that make people feel devolution is not working. We have seen even crazier expenditures, like Ksh5 million for house-warming, and the money has not been returned,” Moses Kajwang said.
Governor Lusaka, who left the Senate to contest for the gubernatorial seat he lost in 2017, faulted the Public Accounts Chair, Senator Moses Kajwang, for attributing improper motives to him. Lusaka clarified that the misuse of funds occurred during the tenure of his predecessor, Wafula Wangamati, not his own.
“For the record, Mr Chair, it will appear as if I am the one responsible. This happened in 2019. Please, Chair, I also need protection. You are addressing this as if it is me; the media are watching live,” Lusaka said.
Bungoma County has previously faced several controversies during Lusaka’s first term. One notable case was the “wheelbarrow scandal”, where he was accused of purchasing wheelbarrows at KSh 100,000 each. Lusaka defended the expenditure, claiming the wheelbarrows were carcinogenic and justified the cost.
During Wafula Wangaati’s tenure, the county was embroiled in another controversy involving water cans, which allegedly cost KSh 10,000 each, earning him the nickname “Wamitungi”.
This comes days after neighbouring Vihiga Governor Wilberforce Otichillo faced scrutiny over the use of KSh 5 million for a house-warming party, a matter that also drew criticism from his senator, Geoffrey Osotsi, citing controversies surrounding the construction of official speakers’ residences.
“The funds borrowed and returned by the Vihiga assembly. And the first borrowing is Ksh 35 million, but there have been subsequent borrowings; the last borrowing was on December 15, 2023, and was Ksh 5 million to finance the speaker’s house-warming, which has not been repaid.
“The governor is now lending for house-warming,” Moses Kajwang said
