Heckling, tempers mar MPs’ bid to question Anne Waiguru

Heckling, name-calling and a near fistfight marred Tuesday’s questioning of Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru when she appeared before MPs to answer questions about corruption claims at the National Youth Service.

Ms Waiguru had been summoned to answer to allegations by Opposition MPs who had questioned procurement at the NYS, the rise in the number of recruits from 6,000 to 31,000 and the NYS budget allocation which was raised from Sh1 billion to Sh25 billion this year.

The far-reaching changes and recruitments had prompted ODM leaders to claim that Jubilee was preparing NYS to act as its militia during the next elections, claims which the government has denied.

Ms Waiguru’s appearance at the meeting of the joint Finance and Labour Committees of the National Assembly split MPs along party lines. However, some ODM MPs such as Mr Richard Onyonka rebelled from the party line and supported Ms Waiguru.

The questioning degenerated into a political contest, with MPs heckling each other and some asking the CS to have the National Youth Service deployed to their constituencies.

DRAMA AND CHAOS

Ms Waiguru said that as CS, she had no role in procurement and that the sum of money under investigation had gone down to Sh695.4 million from the previous Sh826 million.

Tuesday’s session, however, will be remembered for the drama and chaos in the room as MPs, some of whom are not members of the two committees, showed up ready for a showdown.

Ms Waiguru told the MPs that as far as procurement goes, the Ministerial Tender Committee was the ultimate and independent authority on procurement. Citing the law on procurement, she said the committee was set up by the Accounting Officer and was independent from manipulation.

“The role of the Accounting Officer in procurement is therefore administrative, and is limited to ensuring that procurement is conducted in accordance with the law and regulations,” she said.

“From the foregoing, and in the same vein, I wish to state categorically that a Cabinet Secretary has no role whatsoever in procurement, either by approvals or otherwise of the decisions of the Ministerial Tender Committee,” she said.

Responding to a question by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi, she said the youth who demonstrated in the streets in her support were not NYS personnel. Pointing at Mr Adan Harakhe, the NYS Deputy Director, she said NYS personnel wear the new uniforms that look like jungle fatigues.

For most of the session, however, she was reduced to a spectator as MPs heckled each other.

BIG CONTINGENT

House rules allow MPs to attend the sittings of any committee as “friends of the committee” but they cannot vote. A majority of those attending as “friends of the committee” appeared to have gone to show their support for the CS.

Ms Waiguru had arrived with a contingent so big that Finance Committee chairman Benjamin Lang’at had to ask those without a role to leave the meeting room. Those at the core of her entourage were Principal Secretaries Mabruki Mwanamaka and Peter Mangiti, NYS Director Nelson Githinji and Mr Harakhe.

That there would be drama was evident from the start of the proceedings when Kipipiri MP Samuel Gichigi was shouted down after stating that the Labour Committee, of which he is a member, felt that it was the right team to handle the matter. Mr Gichigi said some of his colleagues were waiting in the main chamber and were of the understanding that the matter would not be handled because the Speaker was going to rule on it later.

His ODM counterpart, Mr Wandayi, stoked some animosity by informing his colleagues that he was in charge of political affairs at ODM. He then asked about the reports of irregular procurement, power struggles at NYS, alleged skewed recruitment and its training curriculum.

He alleged that NYS was being used as a militia by the Jubilee Coalition and sought to know whether there was a plan to handle NYS graduates once they leave the institution.

“Since it was detected, and some of it points at an inside job and since we’re aware that investigations are ongoing, what has caused the CS not to have people step aside, starting with herself of course?” he asked.

However, he came under fire from MPs supporting Ms Waiguru, and so many were these in the room at Continental House that some were forced to stand in the packed space. In the course of the proceedings, some clapped and cheered at will.

Mr Wandayi eventually walked out in anger.