Why Governor Wavinya's Machakos County budget is in total crisis

The controversial and drama-ridden delay in the passing of the Machakos County Appropriations Bill, 2026 has raised pertinent questions as to whether the stand-off has to do with ‘rigid’ oversight by MCAs, claims of budgeted corruption or vested political interests.

For about two months now, residents of Machakos County have struggled to access basic services offered by the devolved government following a fierce and protracted war pitting the executive led by Governor Wavinya Ndeti and the County Assembly led by Speaker Ann Kiusya.

In an ideal situation, ward representatives were expected to pass the said Bill by June 31st 2026 which is ordinarily the close of Government Fiscal Year. However, that did not happen despite the executive having submitted the necessary documents required for the processing of the budget by Members of the County Assembly.

Initially, MCAs and the County Assembly leadership had alleged the failure by the county treasury to beat the legal deadline for the submission of the budget papers, a claim that was dismissed as false by the county Department of Finance and Revenue Management headed by Catherine Mutanu.

As days turned into weeks, it turned out that the budget crisis in Ukambani’s richest county was more than met the eye: A stifling grandstanding by the County Assembly leadership versus a rigid cash allocation designed by Governor Wavinya and her lieutenants.

After scrutinizing the budget allocations and spending plan by the executive, the county assembly through the budget and appropriations committee led by Kibauni MCA, Paul Wambua, faulted several vote lines which they reportedly altered and re-allocated without reference to the county treasury.

On August 31, 2026, Wavinya stormed the County Assembly premises flanked by a handful of executive staff where she personally handed a memorandum on the budget to the county assembly clerk, Peter Mbatha, citing what she termed as unlawful mutilation of the document.

The budget as approved by MCAs, she said, violated statutory limits, dismantled essential services and undermined the county’s financial independence.

MCAs had amended Wavinya’s budget and slashed a whopping sh 853 million from the sum total of the 17.7 billion which the county hoped to spend in the current Financial Year.

However, when the governor returned the budget to the assembly seeking a reconsideration, Speaker Kiusya declared the memorandum “inadmissible,” triggering fury and resentment from Wavinya.

“I wish to clarify for the benefit of the Speaker that there is no legal provision for a speaker to declare a governor’s memorandum “inadmissible.” The law says the governor must either assent to the Bill or return it with a memorandum giving reasons for the return. Once returned, the assembly can either accommodate the governor’s concerns or pass the returned Bill again with a two thirds majority,” the governor said.

In doing so, Wavinya hoped she would win the battle through a popular vote should the matter proceed to the County Assembly plenary for debate, something that the Speaker did not allow.

The governor noted the Speaker broke the law by unilaterally declaring the memorandum ‘inadmissible’ without subjecting it to the plenary for debate as required by the law.

“It is important that we interrogate, call out and condemn what appears to be a notorious trend of blatant disregard to constitutionalism and the rule of law exhibited by the Speaker,” she said.

Among issues that annoyed Wavinya was the County Assembly’s decision to completely scrap the sh 126.9 million allocated for the county’s Revenue Management System (RMS) warning the move would cripple all the county operations.

Other programs whose allocations Wavinya says the county assembly had interfered with include, the Machakos Youth Service (MYS), the Governor Wavinya Cup tournament, Wikwatyo Fund, the ECDE feeding and milk program, grassroots county administration budget and funding for the upgrading of selected  national government roads.

MYS, the Governor’s Cup, Wikwatyo Fund, grassroots county administration and ECDE feeding and milk programs are among the governor’s pet projects whose success is believed would catapult her to a second term in office.

However, MCAs largely drawn from the United Democratic Alliance and Maendeleo Chap Chap have claimed without evidence that the allocations were ‘budgeted corruption.’

Mua MCA Francis Ngunga, who has been leading a fierce political onslaught against the governor has on several occasions maintained MCAs will not approve a budget without proper legal safeguards against looting.

“We know the governor is pushing for a porous budget with loopholes to siphon money for her campaigns. As the custodians of the interests of the people of Machakos, we will remain firm and ensure the budget is only implemented in the best interest of Machakos residents,” said Ngunga.

Kinanie MCA Francis Kavyu who recently decamped to UDA said many gaps in the controversial budget raised serious accountability concerns which must be sealed before its operationalization.

“Before we commit taxpayer’s money to expenditure, we must ensure the process is consistent with the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012. What is being proposed for implementation must have been requested by citizens through public participation,” said Kavyu.

But Wavinya has dismissed the claims, insisting her budget was fully compliant with the law. “The Executive submitted balanced Budget Estimates for the 2026/2027 Financial Year totalling sh17.797 billion, fully aligned with the ceilings agreed upon in the 2026 County Fiscal Strategy Paper (CFSP).

Instead of passing this balanced budget, the County Assembly drastically altered items totalling sh853.96 million, stripping funds from binding contracts, essential services, and welfare programs to reallocate them elsewhere,” the governor said, noting all the proposed spending was citizen-driven.

To block the budget from automatically becoming law, Wavinya has moved to the High Court and obtained temporary orders preventing the Speaker and the County Assembly from gazetting or publishing the Machakos County Appropriation Bill, 2026 pending inter parties hearing.

Meanwhile, senior church leaders drawn from the lower Eastern region have added their voices in the escalating stand-off and offered to mediate between the warring parties in the dispute.

Addressing the press in Machakos after paying a courtesy call on Governor Wavinya Ndeti, the clerics under the umbrella of United Clergy Alliance (UCA) expressed concern that the county could soon grid to a halt if the budget delay persists.

Led by Bishop Titus Masika of Christian Impact Mission, the prelates said their desire was to see a compromise in the stand-off between the county executive and the county assembly that will pave the way for the absorption of development budget and delivery of essential services.

“We felt the issues involves other players. We will continue consulting so that the stalemate in the county can be resolved. The consultation continues,” Bishop Masika said.

Governor Wavinya welcomed the intervention, noting that faith leaders play a critical role in fostering peace, unity and development. “The church remains a strong pillar of hope, guidance and unity in our society.

My administration will remain open to working closely with religious leaders valuing their prayers, wisdom and counsel as we build a better Machakos for our people,” she said.