NAIROBI, KENYA: A powerful committee of the National Assembly has ruled that two MPs who face accusations of persistent absenteeism have no case to answer and can keep their seats.
Alex Kosgey (Emgwen) and Raymond Moi (Rongai) were cleared by the Committee on Privileges, which argued that given the unclear records, it was difficult to ascertain the truth on whether the MPs were actually absent from House sittings.
In a report to the committee, out of 166 sittings, Mr Moi had only missed 13; ten in the first session and three in the current session. Moi's ouster had been sought by Rongai constituent Silvester Kibet.
Moi had earlier told the House his political opponent was scheming his ouster after defeat in the last elections.
He tabled evidence to show that on the three days that he is said to have been absent, he was paid for attending committee meetings. That reduced the number of sittings to seven in the first session and the committee therefore exonerated him. "The MP was able to prove inconsistencies between the manual register, the schedule of payments and the actual payments made by the accounts department for plenary sittings attended by the member," the committee noted.
The records before the committee show that Alex Kosgey has missed 90 sittings out of 166. In the first session, he missed 69, while he has missed seven sittings in the current session.
If the MP misses eight sittings without the permission of the Speaker, then the Speaker would be at liberty to declare the seat vacant.
OFFICIAL VISIT
When he appeared before the committee, Kosgey said the attendance register was 'horrendous'. He argued that being away from the House should not mean he had abdicated his duties. He said only the Speaker can declare him absent. The MP said the only time he was absent without the authority of the Speaker was when he led the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on a visit to Australia. "I was under the mistaken impression that since it was an official visit, my absence would be understood," said Kosgey.
The committee agreed the records, which were compiled when the manual system was still in use, were poorly handled and inconsistent and therefore could not be used as a basis to determine attendance.
"The transition period from manual to the biometric clocking-in system experienced system failures that greatly affected the record of members' attendance. It is difficult to establish whether the member was indeed absent due to the inconsistencies occasioned during the trial stage," the committee said in the report tabled in the House.
The petitioner, Charles Sang, had filed a petition, but his first copy was lost, and part of his evidence was rejected by the committee. He subsequently sued the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi in his bid to have the MP kicked out.
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