Opposition lawmakers fail to block report

Opposition lawmakers in the Senate and the National Assembly on Tuesday failed to get Parliament to reject the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission report handed over by the President.

The mainly Cord legislators cited procedural missteps in the tabling of the list last Thursday by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Siaya Senator James Orengo (ODM) and Suna East MP Junet Mohammed (ODM) questioned the constitutionality of the move and the procedure used in the tabling of the report annexed to the President’s speech.

The Speakers, however, dismissed their queries on procedure, saying the list was correctly tabled and legislators could debate it.

The President’s speech and graft list were tabled in the Senate in the morning and in the National Assembly in the afternoon by the majority leaders.

Mr Orengo, who is adversely mentioned in the report, asked why the list had not been gazetted before being tabled in the House.

“Anything before this House must be able to pass a constitutional test. Whether you cut corners or take shortcuts I am fine with that because we are used to that. We need publication in the Kenya Gazette before we can deal with it in the Senate,” he said.

In the National Assembly, Mr Mohammed said under Article 132 of the Constitution, the report must first be published in the Kenya Gazette.

“I am a keen reader and buyer of the Kenya Gazette and I have not seen this anywhere,” said Mr Mohammed. “We cannot discuss a motion that has not been publicised.”

DISMISSED CLAIMS

Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki (Tharaka-Nithi, TNA), who moved the motion to debate the President’s speech, dismissed claims the President did not comply with the law in making the list public.

Prof Kindiki said the Constitution says the President can receive a report from any commission and make it public.

“Corruption is not a corporate crime. It is an individual crime. The people named are presumed innocent until proved guilty,” he said.

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi and Senate Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura (Murang’a, TNA) shot down objections to the debate.

Mr Muturi said the President had fulfilled his mandate. He admitted that the report was not signed but pointed out that neither was the President’s speech.

“The motion is not resolving that you adopt anything. You are being asked to express thanks. You can choose not to express thanks because it is not signed or something attached to it is not authentic. It is not fair for this House to merely reject something because of form. Let us go for substance,” he said.

When debate started, Prof Kindiki appealed to the people mentioned in the report to step aside, saying this should not be taken to mean they have resigned.

Senate Minority Leader Moses Wetang’ula (Bung’oma, Ford-K) claimed the President wanted to punish the innocent, leaving out the actual perpetrators of corruption.

“We don’t want the war against corruption to be fought selectively. There are individuals whose names are synonymous with graft but they are not on the list,” he said.

Mr Kiraitu Murungi (Meru, APK) criticised the culture of asking people linked to corruption to step aside, saying this was not lawful.

“Stepping aside is not a legal principle. It is a dangerous political process. Let someone be punished in accordance with the law if he has committed a crime,” said Mr Murungi.

Mr Billow Kerrow (Mandera, URP) said the President needed to get rid of his advisers for misleading him to present a report based on rumours and lies.

“Never before has the President been so tactless and unwittingly misled in condemning dozens of people to pacify political structures,” said Mr Kerrow.

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale praised Mr Kenyatta’s actions, saying this had placed him among the most prominent leaders in the world.

By Dennis Odunga, John Ngirachu and Jeremiah Kiplang’at