By Martin Mutua

When he stood to speak in Parliament, Mwingi South MP David Musila never expected to be the first to catch the Speaker’s eye.

He wanted to contribute to the much-awaited debate on a joint report by a departmental committee that had recommended the annulment of President Kibaki’s gazette notice reappointing Justice Aaron Ringera as the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission director.

The Motion was moved by Nominated MP Amina Abdalla and seconded by Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohammed.

Although he sits on the front bench, he stood to support the Motion and changed the course of the debate.

He shocked majority of his front bench colleagues when he supported the move against Justice Ringera.

Musila says he has no regrets since his first allegiance is to the people of Mwingi South and cannot be used as a rubber stamp simply because he is an Assistant minister.

"I will from now on move in this direction and I am ready for the consequences," warned the MP.

The Defence Assistant Minister, who seems to have broken ranks with ODM-Kenya leader Kalonzo Musyoka and party Secretary General Mutula Kilonzo, says he was not privy to any decision the party had taken to support Ringera although he is the vice-chairman.

Mr David Musila

"I therefore take it that what Kalonzo and Mutula have been saying are their personal views and I will soon be asking the party to meet and discuss the matter fully," he adds.

He says he is ready to leave the party and seek fresh mandate from his constituents if ODM-Kenya insists on supporting Ringera.

"I can tell you here and now that I will defy the party on this issue because I can never support the reappointment of Ringera, not now, not ever because I am my own man and I don’t follow crowds but my conscience," he adds.

Musila says it is this firmness that made him be sacked by former President Moi as a PC.

Musila told The Standard on Sunday that his conscience is clear and he has no regrets for supporting the Motion that trashed the gazette notice.

"I am a God fearing person and believe in speaking nothing but the truth," he adds.

He reveals prior to the Motion being tabled for debate, he had spent a week in his Mwingi South constituency consulting widely and was also guided by public opinion.

"I came to the conclusion that I could not support Ringera because he has destroyed the lives of many families and shattered the careers of many others, including judges and top civil servants like former CBK Governor Andrew Mullei," he says.

He says he supported the Motion because when the matter was brought before Parliament, "Ringera simply went to his computer and pulled out a list of the people he investigated as if the cases were new".

He argues the embattled anti-graft boss should have quit or brought forward proposals to Parliament because he has always complained the Attorney General was the one frustrating his work.

Musila says he believes in honest fight against corruption and points out that is why he supported President Kibaki, who promised to fight corruption from the top in the 2002 General Election.

"But from the look of things, it seems all that has changed and the fight against corruption is now being fought from the bottom. That’s why we need another person since KACC has failed to live to that promise by Kibaki in 2002," he adds.

He says his pronouncements in Parliament during the debate were the views of the majority of Kenyans, including Cabinet ministers who shied away from speaking and voting.

"My conscience told me to remain firm on these issues and if the Government would have gone ahead with the Appropriations Bill after the defeat, I would have supported the withdrawal of KACC budget," he says.