Inspector General Hillary Mutyambai has appealed against a Sh500,000 penalty fine imposed on him by the Senate Devolution Committee for failure to honor summons.
Mutyambai apologized in a letter to Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye, stating that his failure to come before the Committee was not in bad faith.
The Committee called the Inspector General to explain why police officers were used in the illegal evictions of Pumwani and Eastleigh communities.
“In light of the foregoing, I respectfully request that the penalty imposed on me be set aside by the Committee.” Please accept my deepest apologies; disobeying your summons was never my goal,” the letter stated.
Mutyambai claimed that compiling pertinent facts for the Ministry of Interior and Coordination’s complete report on evictions took longer than expected.
He also blamed his aide for misinforming him about his upcoming appearances before the Homabay Senator Moses Kajwang-led Committee.
“Secondly, in regard to the summons dated March 16, 2022, my assistant mislead me as to the real day I was required to appear before the Committee.” He stated, “I was advised that I was needed to present on March 17, 2022.”
The Inspector General agreed to testify before the committee in future sessions and acknowledged the importance of Parliament’s oversight role.
“I would like to take this opportunity to restate my resolve to obey the law and to honor the next summons issued by this committee,” Mutyambai said.
Mutyambai was fined Sh500,000 by the Senators for ignoring their invitations and summonses.
He was expected to go into greater detail about charges that state machinery was used to evict tenants from their homes in Pumwani and Eastleigh.
Allegations abound that the exercise was carried out under the watchful supervision of police and NMS officers.