Speaker suspends Ababu Namwamba team, orders probe into graft allegations

Kenya: National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi yesterday ordered investigations into the corruption allegations that have rocked the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Muturi also suspended the crucial public watchdog committee from holding meetings of any kind for at least three weeks until the investigations are concluded, underlining the seriousness with which the House leadership has taken the latest claims on the integrity of Parliament.

The order came against the backdrop of public ridicule following the avalanche of fraud and corruption allegations involving MPs, more so, within the PAC, which is supposed to keep watch over public spending to ensure taxpayers’ money is put to good use; but whose members have accused each other of being on the take to let off lightly public institutions and officials under their probe.

But while PAC has prompted the action, perhaps because of the gravity of the bribery claims and the implications they have on its crucial oversight role, up to seven committees of the National Assembly have been caught up in the allegations of corruption within the two years in the life of the Eleventh Parliament.

The Public Investments Committee (PIC), the Transport and Public Works Committee, the Agriculture Committee, the Defence and Foreign Relations Committee, the Administration and National Security and the Energy and Communication Committee have all been caught up in the allegations of corruption, extortion and bribery.

Yesterday, the Speaker, who is the chairman of the Committee on Privileges that is tasked with exposing the crime, also recused himself from handling the investigation. He appointed Moses Cheboi (Kuresoi North, Kanu) to spearhead the inquest into bribery and extortion claims against six members of PAC including chairperson Ababu Namwamba.

“The allegations and counter-allegations of bribery or inducements made by the PAC members against themselves including against [the] chairperson are matters of public notoriety... a matter of this magnitude cannot be swept under the carpet,” said Muturi as he dismissed the stance of the PAC members that they had already dealt with the issue.

The inaugural investigation into the runaway corruption in one of the 32 parliamentary committees will take 21 days and the report will be debated for three days and subjected to a vote in the National Assembly for the recommendations to the implemented.

Mr Cheboi and the rest of the MPs in the committee will be joined by three other unnamed MPs – as long as they have served in the House for more than one term — to dig into the allegations, expose the corrupt and make sure they are punished for tarnishing the integrity of Parliament.

The suspension of PAC will affect the ongoing investigations into the forensic audit of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

ECONOMIC CRIME

In a landmark ruling that will lift the veil of corruption within the House committees, the Speaker said the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission plus all the other investigative agencies will be free to come in and vet the integrity of the MPs, if and when the Committee on Privileges invites them to do so and the invitation is approved by the House.

“The public who bestowed you with the honour of representing them in this August House deserves answers,” said Muturi, as he reminded MPs that “what goes on in the committees affects the integrity and reputation of the House and its members, individually or collectively and cannot be wished away.”

If the committee finds the MPs guilty and the decision is upheld in the House, it will be taken as an economic crime under Chapter Six of the Constitution. It is valid ground for voters to recall their MPs for causing their constituencies national shame and being incompetent to carry out oversight functions.

However, Muturi reminded the committee that the standard of proof ‘ought to be very high’.

The Speaker added: “The allegations of compromises, prejudices, deceit or corruption against the PAC members relate to financial probity of State Officers which is governed by Article 76 of the Constitution.”

The chapter requires State officers to be beyond reproach.

But as the Speaker made the ruling, there were pending questions about the fate of other MPs and committee chairpersons who Deputy Minority Leader Jakoyo Midiwo labelled ‘rent-seekers’ and Emurua Dikirr MP Johanna Ngeno threatened to expose on Tuesday.

David Ochieng’ (Ugenya) had also said some committee chairpersons had promised ‘protection’ for the people that they want to investigate.

The corruption claims that have saddled parliamentary committees are linked with the big-money investigations into misuse of public money and multi-billion shilling procurement queries.

The corruption accusations exploded during the controversial procurement of the contractor for the Standard Gauge Railway tender.

It is at that time the PIC and the Transport and Public Works Committee fought each other to control the investigations.

“When you see one chair being aggressive to investigate alone when issues are cross-cutting, when you need to have a joint committee, just know there’s something,” Midiwo had said.

 

Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills) had said the Transport Committee had already fraternised with the person under investigation given the trip that the chairman Maina Kamanda and some of his members went on to China where they were lavishly hosted by the embattled contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation.

“What did an investigative committee go to China to do? Why were they meeting with the person they were investigating?” asked Midiwo when the matter erupted.

In the end, both committees cleared the deal. Then there were claims of cover-up and corruption when MPs were investigating the military and the National Intelligence Service after the bungled security operation following the terrorist attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi.

Prior to that, there were allegations the military had called the MPs who sit in the House committees on Defence and that of National Security to the Department of Defence for a ‘tour’.

“When I asked, ‘what are we going to do there, they said ‘for a familiarisation tour’. I did not go! We were investigating one of the biggest criminal activities ever to have faced our country from terrorists and the people whose names are conspicuously missing from the recommendations were supposed to have lunch with us. I can tell you that is wrong,”  said Midiwo, who was a member of the committee in a TV interview then.

The report of that team was thrown out after MPs described it as shoddy.

There were also claims of underhand dealings in the compilation of the report on the procurement of a luxury jet for the Deputy President. It involved the PAC.