Sudi: Lawmaker who only talks outside the House
What you need to know:
- Yet Sudi sees nothing wrong with this accumulated ranking.
- Within the constellation of Tangatanga movement, Sudi perhaps embodies the Ruto ideology at its best.
In his constituency, Sudi is known to talk little though he is generous with cash.
Had the role of a lawmaker been to defend Deputy President William Ruto in political rallies and social media, Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi would rank top in the Hansard proceedings.
Sudi has been cast in the spotlight as a result of a survey by Mzalendo Trust, a civil society organisation.
According to the findings published this week, Sudi has not uttered a word in Parliament since his election in 2013.
He has maintained the top position in this category for the seven years he has been in Parliament.
The worst bit is that being the first MP for Kapseret, a constituency created in 2012, he has denied voters official recognition in the records of Parliament.
ACCUMULATED RANKING
Yet Sudi sees nothing wrong with this accumulated ranking. When the same results were published last year, he said representing people does not mean speaking in Parliament.
“I have my own ways of attending to my people and ensuring they get services. The idea of speaking good English is best left to my friends from Nyanza and other regions,” he said
The support for Ruto is not just a political duty for the MP but some kind of a divine right – and perhaps the surest ticket to the much sought after political kingdom in the Rift Valley.
Within the constellation of Tangatanga movement, Sudi perhaps embodies the Ruto ideology at its best, the-come-from-nowhere yuppies, whose background is as clear as a rain swept, windy, blackout night.
And even if he is not its chief executor, Sudi is the lead disciple of an ideology that adherents see as a struggle between the “haves” and the “have-nots”.
Critics dismiss the group as a symbol of primitive accumulation with a rapacious love for land.
GENEROUS
When is not defending the DP at rallies, he is admonishing the President and propagating that sidelining Ruto was part of a scheme by “dynasties” to entrench their rule.
In his constituency, Sudi is known to talk little though he is generous with cash.
Like or hate him, Sudi is one of those bold, fearless soldiers in the Tangatanga infantry, a courage many say was borne out of his past. The lawmaker started his working life as a matatu tout, shattering the glass ceilings to become an MP in the 11th Parliament.
In the past five years, the man has been battling a criminal case after being charged with forgery in 2016.
The Kapseret MP is accused of forging his diploma in business management certificate, reportedly issued by the Kenya Institute of Management.
He is also accused of faking a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination certificate said to have been issued by Highway Secondary School, Nairobi.
The history of mute MPs in Parliament is hardly new. To be fair, Sudi is not the worst.
There was Dr Esther Keino who President Moi plucked from Egerton University and nominated to the ninth Parliament.
The PhD holder went through her entire term without her voice being registered on the Hansard.
