Kaluma: Sifuna and Khalwale must learn to live with broad-based govt experts
Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma has hit out at Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale for what he termed as an unfair attack on Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi.
The senators had earlier criticised Mbadi for failing to appear before the Senate on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, where he was expected to respond to various queries.
Kaluma, in a statement shared on his X account on Thursday, May 8, 2025, accused the two senators, alongside Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana, of using the Senate to attack Mbadi and CS Energy and Petroleum Opiyo Wandayi simply for highlighting development projects planned for the Nyanza region.
He emphasised that their criticism had less to do with accountability and more to do with political posturing against leaders who are championing tangible government projects.
“My brother Edwin Sifuna, Dr Boni Khalwale, and Hon. Mungatana spent the entire morning in the Senate bashing Hon. John Mbadi and Hon. Opiyo Wandayi for spelling out the government projects planned for Nyanza,” Kaluma stated.
The outspoken legislator stated that those uncomfortable with their presence in government must learn to live with the reality of a broad-based administration.
“I’m now waiting for the day they will call Dr Oparanya to the Senate – never. These guys must learn to live with the Broad-Based Government experts, Hon. Mbadi and Hon. Wandayi. They are here to stay. The Senate has zero power over them,” he added.
Sifuna takes on Mbadi
Mbadi’s absence from the Senate sitting was announced by Speaker Amason Kingi, who told the House that he had received a letter from the CS explaining he had other official engagements.
This explanation, however, did not sit well with some senators, particularly Sifuna, who accused Mbadi of undermining the role of the Senate.
The firebrand politician challenged the concept of a broad-based government, dismissing it as a non-existent or vague political construct. He emphasised that, in his view, the only legitimate administration is the Kenya Kwanza government led by President William Ruto.
According to him, all Cabinet Secretaries currently in office serve under this administration, and any references to a broader or more inclusive government are misleading and lack formal recognition.
“Let me first begin by saying this thing called broad-based government – I don’t know where it exists. I don’t recognise any entity called broad-based. There’s a government of Kenya Kwanza under the leadership of President William Ruto. Every Cabinet Secretary who serves in that government serves the Kenya Kwanza government,” Sifuna declared.
He further accused some recently appointed Cabinet Secretaries of behaving as though they were appointed to represent their ethnic communities.
“Some of these individuals who joined the government recently think they are there to represent their ethnic communities. Every time a Cabinet Secretary stands up, he tells you how much the Ministry of Energy has allocated to power projects in Nyanza. So the rest of us Luhyas are sitting there wondering who is going to speak about the projects in Bugoma,” he said.
Sifuna also expressed frustration that Mbadi appeared on national television the night before the Senate session but failed to show up at the Senate the next morning.
“Yesterday, at night, just before the game between Inter Milan and Barcelona began, I saw the CS for Treasury on Citizen TV. He has time to appear before Citizen TV, but he has no time to appear before this House. I refused to watch that interview and switched to the football match because I was expecting him here,” Sifuna stated.
Adding;
“The CSs must write in good time to tell the House that they will not be showing up. If a CS insists on writing a day before, that is absolute contempt.”
Senator Khalwale also voiced his concern, saying that Mbadi had failed to attend a Senate Finance and Budget Committee meeting the day before, claiming he was in a Cabinet meeting.
“You can see he wasn’t at Cabinet but at a rally,” Khalwale pointed out
He warned that the current trend of CSs skipping Senate summons could weaken parliamentary oversight.
“If this Parliament does not rise to the occasion, what is happening in this broad-based government will be no different from what we saw during the Grand Coalition,” Khalwale said.
