Machakos County MCAs Go After Wavinya Ndeti As Budget Dispute Takes New Twist

Machakos County MCAs Go After Wavinya Ndeti As Budget Dispute Takes New Twist

The Machakos County Assembly has launched a probe into Governor Wavinya Ndeti’s storming of its premises and confrontation with officials on August 31, amid a dispute over the county’s Ksh17.8 billion budget.

Speaker Anne Kiusya said on Tuesday, September 1, that the Committee on Powers and Privileges would investigate the incident alongside an internal inquiry.

Kiusya described it as a breach of Assembly protocol and an intrusion into the operations of the institution and its officers.

“We have launched investigations into yesterday’s incidents, particularly on internal matters,” she said during a session in which a Motion on a Matter of County Importance was being discussed.

“We will also conduct a separate investigation through the Committee on Powers and Privileges.”

The investigation comes amid a dispute over the Machakos County Appropriations Bill, 2026, which the governor returned to the Assembly for reconsideration on August 28.

She accused MCAs of unlawfully cutting Ksh853.96 million from key programmes, including garbage collection, the youth service, Wikwatyo Fund, bursaries and the county revenue system.

Ndeti said she personally went to the Assembly after the Speaker and Clerk allegedly declined to receive her memorandum on the rejected budget.

“My officers have been at the Assembly since morning, but once again, the Speaker and the Clerk refused to receive the documents. For that reason, I decided to come personally to present the memorandum,” she said.

The Assembly had passed the Bill with amendments on August 18 and later approved the withdrawal of 50 per cent of the 2026/2027 budget estimates to sustain county operations, a measure Ndeti further pushed for implementation during the incident.

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In response to the standoff, hundreds of residents gathered outside the Machakos County Assembly on Wednesday, September 2, to protest the budget dispute and pressure MCAs to pass the county budget, with heightened security deployed inside and around the premises.

According to the Speaker’s account, Ndeti entered the Assembly precincts accompanied by some officials, armed security personnel and members of the public, including people identified as media personnel on August 31.

The Speaker said the group proceeded to her Secretariat, where they demanded the official receiving stamp before Ndeti later went to the Clerk’s office.

Further, Kiusya said the Governor confronted the Clerk over the alleged failure to officially receive and stamp her memorandum, although the Clerk maintained that the documents had already been received and were in the Assembly’s custody.

The Speaker said the Assembly would also investigate claims that some accredited media personnel were involved.

She Reiterated that those found culpable facing revocation of their accreditation and removal from the Assembly register.

Machakos County MCAs Go After Wavinya Ndeti As Budget Dispute Takes New Twist