Rachael Shebesh quits house committees over clash with Senator Mike Sonko

[Nairobi Women Representative Rachael Shebesh Photo:Standard]

By GEOFFREY MOSOKU

NAIROBI, KENYA: Embattled Nairobi Women Representative Rachael Shebesh has now resigned from all Parliamentary committees following much publicized reports of her altercations with Senator Mike Sonko.

The Nairobi MP made the move following media reports that she has been involved in a physical fights with Sonko, twice in the past week. 

She wrote to Jubilee Chief Whip Katoo Ole Metito informing him of her decision even as the Jubilee leadership in Parliament initiated efforts to reconcile her with Sonko.  The resignation letter is copied to leader of Majority Aden Duale and TNA chairman Johnson Sakaja.

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In the letter she also thanked her party TNA for according her the opportunity to serve in the select and departmental committees. Shebesh also told the Jubilee leadership that she has consequently withdrawn her candidature from the membership of Pan African Parliament, which is based in South Africa.

The standing orders provide that a member can resign from any committee by writing to the Chef Whip of his/her party and the party can replace that member.

Spying on Shebesh

This comes after Jubilee leadership had commenced initiatives to reconcile the two Nairobi leaders whose conduct has shed bad light on the ruling coalition.

On Wednesday evening, Duale and his deputy Naomi Shaban summoned the two to their Parliament office separately seeking to understand their cause of their differences.

The meeting was followed by another in the evening, outside Parliament where Metito and Sakaja met the duo separately.

In the two sessions, Sonko played recordings of telephone conversation between Shebesh and other leaders including former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Sonko told the leaders that he had been spying for a long time on the Women Representative.

Although both Sakaja and Duale confirmed leading the efforts to reconcile the two, both refused to comment on the clip saying that discussions were still on.

“It’s true I am leading those efforts as the leader of majority in parliament,” Duale said without divulging information on how far the efforts have reached.