Speaker Muturi suspends summonses to Cabinet Secretaries

The newly introduced special session in the National Assembly where Cabinet Secretaries were to be interrogated on a weekly basis by MPs has been suspended.

House Speaker Justin Muturi made the directive at Tuesday’s sitting, to the displeasure of the minority coalition in the House.

The Speaker indicated that the new system had encountered several obstacles and directed the Procedures and House Rules Committee, which he chairs, to spearhead more consultations on the way forward.

But Cord protested the move, accusing the Speaker and the President of engaging in blatant violation of the Constitution and the standing orders on the oversight role of Parliament.

Cord MPs addressing the press thereafter said they would write to the Speaker officially to register their displeasure.

Minority Leader Francis Nyenze said the coalition would also ask the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution to give guidance.

"The Executive should have gone to Court and not written to the President about its concerns," he said.

The Minority MPs argued that the Standing Orders must be amended for any changes to be made.

Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo said Parliament risks being a mere extension of the Executive, arguing that the latter has continued to interfere with its operations.

The National Assembly had amended its standing orders to create the General Oversight Committee — basically a sitting of all members but in a committee system style, chaired by the House.

Under the new system, Cabinet Secretaries were to appear before the committee for two and a half hours every Tuesday starting at 10am to directly respond to questions from members on various issues of concern before the House.

The system meant all the 349 members of the National Assembly could attend and question Cabinet Secretaries during the sessions.

The new system was only put into operation last Tuesday upon the resumption of the House sittings after its long recess.

Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu was the first to appear before the MPs in the general committee sitting that was held in the main chamber of the National Assembly, where she was questioned on various issues concerning her ministry.

Cabinet secretaries Joseph Ole Lenku (Interior and National Coordination) and Jacob Kaimenyi (Education) were also scheduled to appear before the committee but did not show up.

They were scheduled to appear before the committee on Tuesday.