Will we ever be able to cub Corruption? Tongaren MP, David Eseli Simiyu, has cast aspersions on the ability of the 12th Parliament to perform its constitutionally mandated functions claiming the House as currently constituted cannot function effectively. The vocal lawmaker declared the 12th Parliament was dead and therefore was incapable of holding the government of the day to account, especially on the issue of corruption.
Appearing on NTV’s morning talk show on Tuesday, November 19, Simiyu said the House was heavily leaning towards the ruling Jubilee party and that any agenda that was deemed to be against the government’s position cannot sail through. “The National Assembly as currently constituted is incapable of holding anybody to account. Have you noticed there have been very little attempts on actually calling out the corrupt? In fact, the few times any member has attempted to do that it has been a futile endeavour,” he claimed.
The MP added the situation in Parliament was worsened by the March 9, 2018, peace agreement, commonly referred to as the handshake, between Opposition leader Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta. “The ‘handshake’ has complicated issues further,” he said in reference to the decision by the Opposition leaders to work with the government instead of criticizing it as was previously the case.
The 12th Parliament has indeed been on the spot over the manner in which it was conducting its affairs, especially with regard to the ongoing fight against corruption. A section of the MPs were in August 2018 accused of receiving bribes to shoot down a report that had implicated prominent government officials in the sugar import scandal.
Legislators from Western Kenya sugar belt accused some of their colleagues of receiving KSh 10,000 to dismiss the sugar probe report in a bid to save cabinet secretaries Henry Rotich (Treasury) and Adan Mohammed (East African Community). The move angered some of the lawmakers who stormed out of Parliament among them Simba Arati (Dagoretii North), Godfrey Odanga (Matayos), Justus Murunga (Matungu) and Ayub Savula (Lugari).