Senators have registered their displeasure over the failure of Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi, Energy and Petroleum CS Davis Chirchir and Treasury CS Prof Njuguna Ndung'u failure to appear before the Senate committee.

The glaring absence of the trio has left the lawmakers agitated and demanding accountability.

Boni Khalwale, the Majority Whip, minced no words and called out Mudavadi for his repeated contempt of the house. 

"This is not the first time, the Prime Cabinet Secretary has had a clear attitude towards this house. He thinks the house is waiting for him. He had a seven-day window, in which he knew he was going to travel; he should have informed us," said the Kakamega Senator in a sitting on Wednesday. 

Mudavadi had written to the house speaker, Amason Kingi on the morning of the plenary on November 29, saying that he was out on official business.

“The CS for foreign and diaspora affairs is out of the country on delegated duties and thus cannot appear on the senate plenary, “the speaker read the notice of absence.

Khalwale called on the speaker to act promptly and curb the habit of leaders absconding from sitting and grilling sessions on matters affecting the people.

"This is the time to sanction the Prime Cabinet Secretary so that he respects the house of equity that represents the 47 counties of Kenya. If we do not call it to order, they are going to run roughshod on all Kenyans."

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua joined the chorus, echoing the concerns of the majority whip. Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, and Senator Gloria Orwoba among others raised concerns on the CSs absence. 

"Once a note is given to a CS to appear before parliament, there can never be an excuse for not appearing," Wambua asserted.

Dismissing the excuse of being on a trip abroad, Wambua called it a "shameful excuse" and urged the Senate Speaker to take decisive action.

"If you do not nip this thing in the bud right now, then CSs will be giving you excuse after excuse. Find reason within our constitution and standing orders to censure these cabinet secretaries to ensure that they appear before the Senate."

Kiambu Senator Karungo wa Thang'wa has called on the senate speaker to "Crack the whip," emphasizing the disrespect not just to the Senate but also to the President.

Senator Gloria Orwoba expressed her disappointment, questioning the priorities of the absent CSs.

"What are the CSs so busy doing that they cannot be here to answer questions that the hustlers are asking?"

Mudavadi was supposed to answer questions regarding the government's inaction in assisting the release of pastoralists from Turkana County arrested in Uganda.

The Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning was to explain the delay in disbursing funds to the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

The CS treasury in his response to the house and in notice of absence said that he is in no position to answer the question as it fell outside his docket.

“Cs treasury says that this question would have been Responded to by the CS health and not him and thus he is unable to respond,” Kingi read the notice.

Meanwhile, Chirchir faced a barrage of questions about a Government-to-Government agreement for the supply of fuel. The Senators sought to demand detailed information on the terms, costs, and potential savings.

The lawmakers also sought explanations for power transformer breakdowns in Kirinyaga County and the delay in replacing defective transformers in Mwea Constituency.

The energy CS said in his correspondence said that he is out of the country for the COP 28 conference in Dubai which starts on November 30.