Speaker sends reporters to gallery

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has ordered journalists out of the media centre and told them that they will do their job from the press gallery.

In a ruling to the House, Mr Muturi upheld the directive of the Clerk, Mr Justin Bundi, to convert Parliament’s media centre into two committee rooms.

The ruling means journalists have no option but to stay away from Parliament unless House proceedings and committee meetings are on-going.

It also means the impromptu plans being hatched in the corridors of power and in the lobbies of the House will not be captured, because cameras and “strangers” are not allowed to mingle with MPs, except in designated areas such as the media centre, where most of the mindboggling schemes were overheard and exposed.

In parliamentary parlance, anyone who is not an MP or staff, is dubbed a “stranger”.

Though Mr Muturi said journalists will be allowed to do their work “without hindrance”, the National Assembly had tightened its security, and journalists without clearance were locked out.

But even that arrangement was thrown out when a verbal order demanded a signed list authenticated by media houses.

The Kenya Parliamentary Journalists Association chaired by this writer met the Clerk, but he insisted that all journalists coming to the National Assembly have to be accredited.

The last time parliamentary journalists were accredited was over a year ago.

Mr Muturi insisted that there were no offices and journalists should make way for MPs to do their constitutional duty.

“Over 230 members of both Houses do not have offices...parliamentary office holders, including me, are operating from offices not commensurate to their status,” Mr Muturi said.

But Mr John Mbadi (Suba) protested the Speakers’ ruling and told him that journalists should stay in the media centre. Mr Mbadi said the media centre was built to help journalists do their work.

Yesterday, deputy minority leader Jakoyo Midiwo told parliamentary journalists to stay away from Parliament Buildings until an alternative space is found for them.

Mr Midiwo, who raised the matter in the House Business Committee, said: “Parliament is for Members of Parliament and not journalists”.

Mr Midiwo has been angry with the coverage of the salaries debacle in the House.

The Kenya Editors Guild said coverage of Parliament “is an inalienable right linked to the right of Kenyans to know what goes in Parliament.”