Lelelit in scuffle with 3 senators after Kingi order
National
By
Josphat Thiong’o
| Apr 02, 2026
Samburu Governor Lati Lelelit addresses the press outside Parliament, Nairobi on April 1, 2026. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]
Samburu Governor Lati Lelelit yesterday vowed to file assault charges against three senators.
The county chief also vowed to stay away from the Senate until his safety is guaranteed.
Lelelit was involved in a scuffle with Senators Edwin Sifuna (Nairobi), Eddy Oketch (Mutoro) and Richard Onyonka (Kisii) yesterday.
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He criticised the conduct of the trio, accusing them of blindly attacking him right outside the precincts of Parliament as he addressed journalists.
“I respect the Senate, but I will be moving to court to sue the three Senators over their conduct. Unfortunately, they chose to harass me and demean the stature of the Senate,” he said.
Earlier, Lelelit had appeared before the Senate Clerk to set the record straight as to why he had failed to honour an invite of the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC).
Samburu Governor Lati Lelelit and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna during a scuffle outside Parliament. April 1, 2026. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi ordered the governor’s immediate arrest. He issued the orders during the afternoon sitting.
“I order the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort Governor Samburu to the nearest police station if he is still within the premises of Parliament,” said Kingi.
This prompted the three senators to accost the governor in what was billed as a citizen’s arrest. Things, however, turned dramatic after the governor’s bodyguards and other Senators such as Karungu Thang’wa intervened.
“I came and explained to the clerk that I had been invited to two committees at the same time on the same day and that is why it was not humanly possible to be in two committees at once,” said Lelelit. Samburu Governor Lati Lelelit leaving Parliament after a meeting with Senate leadership on April 1, 2026. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]
“It’s, however, unfortunate that the three senators chose to attack me from behind and not face me like the man I am,” he added.
Just minutes earlier, Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot had urged the speaker to take swift action, saying the matter required urgent attention to prevent the governors from evading accountability.
His call was backed by Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua, who criticised governors for openly defying Senate summons and likened their conduct to a deliberate challenge to Parliament’s authority.
Sifuna said Lelelit and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja disregarded Senate rules by addressing the media from the precincts of Parliament despite active arrest warrants.
“When our clerk writes to governors to appear before a committee of this House, they are told to appear on a specific day, before a specific committee… How is it possible that people can just decide to come, enter the precincts of the Senate, take pictures, address the media… and then say those people who are looking for me, I am now here?” Sifuna said.
He went on to urge the House to put its foot down.
The development comes amid an intensified standoff between governors and senators, and a statement from the Council of Governors over their alleged extortion by senators.
Speaking during a press conference on Tuesday, CoG Chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi accused the Senators of saying the move is necessary to safeguard due process and prevent what the Council termed as the politicisation of oversight mechanisms.
He pointed out that the Council maintains that its collective decision to withhold participation in CPAC proceedings stems from alleged harassment, extortion, and intimidation by members of the committee.
Abdullahi further alleged that repeated attempts to engage Senate leadership on the matter have failed, deepening tensions between the two institutions.
It claimed that singling out individual governors for arrest while unresolved grievances remain is unfair and undermines constitutional principles of accountability and due process.
“It is regrettable to single out a few Governors for coercive action in a grave matter that remains unresolved between the Committee and the Council,” he stated.
The demand comes as Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja appeared before the Senate, marking a key development in the escalating standoff between county chiefs and the Senate