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Allegations that the recent increase of MPs salaries was an attempt by government to bribe those in No camp has attracted the wrath of legislators who demanded those culpable face punishment. Assistant ministers David Musila and Joseph Nkaissery, MPs John Mbadi (Gwassi), Gideon Konchellah (Kilgoris), and Shakeel Shabir (Kisumu Town East) said some MPs were making remarks that were degrading to Parliament for ‘populist’ sake and that culprits should be named and suspended from the House. Mr Musila said the remarks made at a No rally over the weekend was an insult to the integrity of the House since the decision to adopt the report was made on the floor.The matter came to the floor after Mr Musila rose to seek the Speaker’s direction and ruling.
“I watched TV in utter disbelief on Saturday as an Hon member of the House told a huge public rally at Machakos that the decision to increase the salaries was meant to bribe 'No' into 'Yes',” he said. Mr Musila said the dignity of the House had been seriously dented by the remarks and sought guidance from the chair.
Bad name
Mr Nkaissery urged the Speaker to take appropriate action to deter MPs from carrying on with the behaviour. “Some MPs are giving the House a bad name for populist sake, and they should be named,” he urged. Even though he was not in the House when the Justice Akiwumi commission report was passed, he said he was still part and parcel of the decision and the same applies to all other MPs who were not present. The member reminded his colleagues that they remain part of decisions made on the floor even when they are absent, arguing that some have perfected the art of avoiding debates on crucial issues by staying away only to go out later to criticise the decisions at ‘funerals’ and public forums.
He took issue with Finance minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, and his Cooperative Development counterpart, Joseph Nyaga, on the same. “They ought to have come to the House to give their views on the floor of the House,” he said. Mr Mbadi, backing Mr Musila, said the matter was crucial and sensitive. “To claim that the government was using the Akiwumi Report to bribe members in effect means the government is using the Parliamentary Service Commission to bribe,” he argued.
Peddle lies
He said this had also put the integrity of the Speaker at stake. “It is high time the Speaker reins in the populist statements coming from some of our colleagues who are perpetually absent from the House,” the member said. “As it stands not, I believe this House is under attack,” he said. Mr Konchellah said, although hate speech has been cut down, focus should move to dealing with peddling lies saying that was happening at the moment. He said the Finance minister should be named for commenting on the issue outside Parliament instead of taking his concerns to the floor where the decision was made. Mr Shabir said the move to adopt the report was not unanimous saying there were about two people who said Nay.
However, he demanded that action be taken on a local radio station and a morning show presenter who called the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Kenneth Marende, a fool. Deputy Speaker, Farah Maalim, promised that the Speaker would give a communication on the same on Thursday afternoon.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s) and not do necessarily reflect the views of the AfricaFiles' editors and network members. They are included in our material as a reflection of a diversity of views and a variety of issues. Material written specifically for AfricaFiles may be edited for length, clarity or inaccuracies.
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