NAIROBI, Kenya – A fierce confrontation at the Senate has exposed gaping holes in how Mandera County spent nearly half a billion shillings meant for drought relief, with senators now demanding criminal investigations into what they term a systematic plunder of emergency funds.
Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif found himself in the hot seat on Tuesday as the Senate County Public Accounts Committee tore into his administration’s use of Sh449.1 million from the county’s emergency kitty, with lawmakers expressing outrage over missing documentation, phantom seedlings and relief food that cannot be traced to any beneficiaries.
The explosive session, chaired by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang, revealed that Sh349 million allegedly spent on relief food during the drought and Sh55.9 million purportedly used to purchase seedlings could not be linked to actual recipients or verified projects, raising the spectre of massive theft in one of Kenya’s poorest counties.
“We need assurance that the funds were properly used. If you can provide that, we will move to the next issue,” Kajwang told a visibly uncomfortable Khalif. But the governor’s explanations only deepened the mystery.
According to the breakdown presented to the committee, Sh349 million went to relief food, Sh32.2 million to water trucking, Sh55.9 million on seedlings and Sh12 million in cash transfers to vulnerable families. Yet when pressed for details, the county boss could not produce a single name of a beneficiary, a list of farmers who received seedlings or any credible paper trail showing the money reached its intended targets.
The seedlings controversy proved particularly explosive. Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna delivered a stinging rebuke when Governor Khalif claimed the Sh55.9 million had been spent on maize seedlings.
“Maize does not come from seedlings,” Sifuna interjected sharply, correcting the governor’s apparent confusion between seeds and seedlings. “Tell us the right story, not the one you are telling us.”
When Khalif attempted to recover by claiming the seedlings were for vegetables along River Dawa, senators demanded to know exactly where the millions of seedlings could be found.
“Seedlings are something you need to see,” Kajwang pressed. “Sh55 million worth of seedlings is how many seedlings? If we came to Mandera to oversee this expenditure, where do we find them?”
Sifuna added with barely concealed contempt: “If I give farmers 10,000 avocado seedlings, I should be able to point and say those are the trees.”
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei highlighted the opportunity cost of the questionable spending, noting that Sh55.9 million could have built 55 early childhood development classrooms or funded extensive water trucking for drought-stricken communities.
The governor’s claim that the seedlings were distributed to more than 6,000 registered farmers along riverlines and rainfields fell flat when he could not produce a register of beneficiaries or specify which crops were actually planted.
Former Mandera Senator Billow Kerrow, a renowned economist, did not hide his disgust at the revelations. Taking to social media platform X, Kerrow unleashed a scathing critique of his successor’s administration.
“Sh55.9 million on seedlings? My hometown of Rhamu on River Dawa with 22,000 hectares of farmland doesn’t enjoy free inputs from the county administration,” Kerrow, who hails from Rhamu, wrote with evident frustration.
He contrasted the alleged free seedling distribution with the reality on the ground, where farmers are forced to pay Sh6,000 per hour for the only plough tractor in the sub-county.
“The same county that claims to supply free seedlings charges Sh6,000 per hour for the only plough tractor in the sub-county,” he pointed out, questioning the administration’s priorities.
Kerrow argued that if the county genuinely supported farmers along River Dawa with inputs, the region would not be perpetually dependent on famine relief. He ended his post with the Swahili phrase “Akili ni mali,” roughly translated as “intelligence is wealth,” a pointed jab at the county leadership.
The River Dawa region, which forms part of the Kenya-Ethiopia border, is known for its agricultural potential with some 22,000 hectares of arable land. Farmers there grow crops including maize, vegetables, sunflowers and fruits through irrigation. However, they have long complained about lack of government support despite the county’s claims of massive spending on agricultural inputs.
The audit controversy extends beyond seedlings. Senators expressed equal concern over the Sh349 million allegedly spent on relief food, noting the impossibility of verifying whether drought-stricken families actually received assistance.
“Whatever you’re calling assurance here is a desktop sample,” Kajwang said dismissively when county auditors claimed they had conducted verification through phone calls and limited site visits. “Boots must be on the ground. This county is facing drought. We cannot rely on stories.”
The Sh32.2 million reportedly spent on water trucking also came under scrutiny, with senators questioning how the county tracked distribution in such a vast, arid region where many communities are nomadic.
The Sh12 million listed as cash transfers to vulnerable families and the elderly triggered demands for a complete audit showing names, identification numbers and evidence of actual disbursement.
Committee members noted with alarm that Mandera County had not established a proper Emergency Fund as required by law, despite being one of the counties most vulnerable to climate-related disasters.
Kajwang later announced on Facebook that the committee had directed Auditor General Nancy Gathungu to conduct a comprehensive forensic audit of all emergency-related expenditure, covering Sh382 million on relief and refugee assistance, the controversial Sh55.9 million on seedlings, Sh32.8 million on water trucking and a whopping Sh459 million on scholarships and education benefits.
“The Senate expressed grave concern that the county had not established an Emergency Fund as required by law,” Kajwang stated, adding that the audit would determine whether funds were stolen or simply mismanaged.
The revelations come as Mandera County grapples with a worsening humanitarian crisis, with prolonged drought leaving millions facing hunger and acute water shortages. The county, which borders both Ethiopia and Somalia, is predominantly inhabited by pastoralist communities whose livelihoods depend on livestock.
This is not the first time Governor Khalif’s administration has faced serious questions over financial management. In July last year, senators directed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the construction of the governor’s official residence, which ballooned from an initial budget of Sh107 million in 2014 to a final cost of Sh285 million, far exceeding the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s ceiling of Sh45 million for county governor residences.
At that hearing, Kajwang accused the county leadership of building “Hollywood kind of homes, the homes for NBA and multibillion shilling football stars” while hospitals lacked drugs and children went without bursaries.
“The governor is competing with Cristiano Ronaldo in lifestyles when there are no drugs in county hospitals, when there is no bursary for children,” Kajwang had thundered.
The Auditor General’s reports have consistently flagged Mandera County for financial irregularities, including the lack of proper documentation for Sh69.3 million allocated for National Police Reservists, absence of a fixed assets register and reliance on manual payroll systems that are vulnerable to manipulation.
The current emergency fund scandal has reignited calls for criminal accountability in county governments, with civil society groups demanding that perpetrators of financial crimes face prosecution rather than merely being asked to provide explanations.
As Mandera’s drought crisis deepens and residents struggle with hunger and thirst, the revelation that hundreds of millions meant for their relief may have been stolen or wasted has sparked anger across the county.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has called on the government to declare the drought in North Eastern Kenya a national disaster, warning that the humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating.
For farmers like those in Rhamu who till the fertile banks of River Dawa, the seedlings scandal represents a bitter betrayal. While their county government claims to have spent tens of millions supporting them, they remain without basic inputs, forced to pay exorbitant fees for tractors and left to wonder where all the money went.
The Senate’s decision to order a forensic audit represents a crucial test of accountability in Kenya’s devolved system. Whether it leads to prosecutions and recovery of stolen funds or ends up as yet another report gathering dust on a shelf will determine if county governments can continue to operate with impunity or must finally answer for their stewardship of public resources.
As Kenya battles a nationwide cost-of-living crisis and counties complain about inadequate funding from the national government, the Mandera scandal serves as a stark reminder that the problem may not always be insufficient resources but rather the systematic theft and mismanagement of what little is available.
For now, the people of Mandera wait to see if this latest expose will finally bring justice or if their emergency funds will remain another unsolved mystery in Kenya’s long catalogue of corruption scandals.
