Government functions being sabotaged, say central MPs

Kenya is in danger of being weakened through the undermining of national institutions, a parliamentary group has warned.

In a statement, the Central Kenya Parliamentary Caucus, which brings together MPs and senators from across the political divide, expressed their concern that the three arms of government are being undercut.

The statement was read by Florence Kajuju and Dennis Waweru on behalf of the 39 legislators from the regional bloc.

They said, the institutions have so far worked well despite being in their formative stages.

“Our concern is that there seems to be having concerted effort to erode their credibility in such ways as to undermine ability to deliver. This appears designed to relegate Kenya to the category of failed states and in the process, the very state that is Kenya is made an issue,” they said.

The MPs blamed various agencies whose loyalty they feel lay elsewhere.

“As a result, some people behave as if they are not part of the state in which they operate and thus give impression that their loyalty is in places other than Kenya. These are found within the government, the media, NGOs and Civil Society organs, and cultural and religious agencies,” said the caucus.

Without naming the agencies, the caucus said that these elements continued to portray the institutions as corrupt with a view to discredit and render the nation ungovernable.

“Besides the judiciary, other national institutions that have been made candidates for discrediting are the independent constitutional offices, particularly the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, (IEBC). Some politicians have developed a disaster prone trend aimed at discrediting the electoral body. It is not a new tactic given that it was used in 2007 as a pretext for condoning violence,” they said.

The same elements were also accused of trying to drive a wedge between the president and his deputy at the same time shooting down any proposals made to propel Kenya to greatness.

The MPs also deny any supremacy battles within the ruling coalition and took the opportunity to declare their support for Deputy President William Ruto.

“We are concerned that prominent politicians at the national and county levels seemingly go out of their way to undercut Deputy President William S. Ruto. Superficially, this appears like regional supremacy battles in creating political fiefdoms but in reality the effect is to undermine the Presidency and the country’s wellbeing.

“We stand firmly with Deputy President William Ruto against those who are bent on undercutting him or wish that he might exit national politics,” they said.

The Tuesday meeting in Nairobi was convened by Senator Kiraitu Murungi, Kabando wa Kabando and Senator Lenny Kivuti and attended by 39 lawmakers from the senate and parliament.