By JUMA KWAYERA

The message in the graffiti that has arrested the interest of Nairobi residents is gripping: the Kenyan MPs are compared to a vulture that bleeds the weak to death and feeds on their corpses.

The unflattering verdict on the Tenth Parliament thus sums up the public’s low opinion of an institution increasingly being viewed as the rotor that runs the vice, which has been gnawing away at the promise of prosperous future.

Such is the dim view of parliamentarians, who crave self-indulgence as majority of impoverished Kenyans die of hunger and abject poverty as the representatives in the August House revel in opulence.

In the court of public opinion, the apathy toward Constitution implementation and partisan interests in the appointment of public office holders point to a House entangled in graft, only working hard to make it a more intricate web.

Economic crimes

The perceptions notwithstanding, MPs say they are not aware of the existence or perpetuation of economic crimes through Parliament, notwithstanding revelations the cost of the refurbishment of Parliament having been inflated from Sh800 million to Sh1.2 billion and the allegations of some MPs having been induced to defeat censure Motions against certain cabinet ministers.

There have been high profile graft allegations Parliament has in the past suspiciously dispended with. They include Charterhouse Bank money laundering allegations in which questions were raised about the finance committee, the report on sale of Grand (now Laico) Regency Hotel has never been made public and censure Motions against Eldoret North MP William Ruto (then Agriculture minister) and Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta raised eyebrows about the conduct of Parliament.

During the recent appointment of judiciary officials, Gwasi MP John Mbadi sensationally alleged some members of the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee received Sh15 million to clear candidates.

The latest is the recent debate on the report on depreciation of the Kenyan shilling against international currencies. Parliament inexplicably edited out portions on the role of the Central Bank of Kenya Governor. In all, the number of incidents in which MPs – collectively or individually – are accused of perpetuating or covering up graft and their denial thereof casts Parliament as a brotherhood.

From interviews with multiple MPs, the brotherhood or cult, the constant response is: "I don’t know anything; there is no evidence."

It is against this backdrop that questions are being raised about the powers of the Speaker, who chairs the Powers and Privileges Committee, to uphold the positive image of Parliament.

Most corrupt

The unsettling fact about Kenyan MPs is that a survey by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission released in November says Parliament is one of the most corrupt institutions.

The 2010-2011 report submitted to Parliament shows that every three Kenyans view ministers, their assistants, MPs and councillors as among the most corrupt people.

In the wake of the sarcasm in the graffiti painted on buildings in the Central Business District in Nairobi, questions are being asked if the Speaker has the powers to order an investigation into the allegations to restore the integrity of the Legislature.

Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara says the new Constitution empowers the Speaker to investigate the allegations to redeem the credibility of the National Assembly as an august House. Imanyara says the Speaker, who chairs the Parliamentary Committee on Powers and Privileges that disciplines errant MPs, has not lived up to his billing as the titular head of the Legislature.

He concurs, without being specific, with the public rating of the current Parliament as the most corrupt since Independence.

Wasted chance

"The Tenth Parliament had an historic opportunity of leading the campaign for the re-birth of a new Kenya. Sadly, it wasted that opportunity by surrendering its mandate to an opportunistic, selfish and corrupt clique of the ill-gotten money merchants out to perpetuate the status quo," Imanyara told The Standard On Sunday in response to questions why the Speaker appears helpless even as the credibility of the institution he heads comes under attack.

Fisheries Minister Jefa Kingi, a lawyer, shares the view. He says the Speaker has the responsibility of upholding credibility of the House.

"It is the mandate of the Speaker to oversee like the Chief Justice. Claims of MPs and other officials being compromised need to be investigated and its authenticity established. Parliament must be beyond reproach," says Kingi, MP for Magarini.

Section 9 of the Powers and Privileges Act gives the Speaker the mandate to investigate MPs’ conduct. In the absence of an Official Leader of the Opposition, Imanyara argues the Speaker can save Parliament from being hijacked by corrupt "money merchants."

He says: "We have abandoned the reform agenda to the Willy Mutunga-led Judiciary and it is now up to Marende to assume his responsibility as the leader of the legislative arm of Government and set up a select committee to conduct public hearings on the allegations made against MPs."

The Powers and Privileges Act provides: "The Speaker may, from time to time as he deems expedient, issue directions in the form of a Code of Conduct regulating the conduct of members of the Assembly whilst within the precincts of the assembly other than the Chamber."

"There shall be a committee, to be known as the Committee of Privileges, consisting of the Speaker and ten other members of the assembly under the chairmanship of the Speaker," it adds.

No word

Neither Marende nor Deputy Speaker Maalim Farah would respond to calls or messages left on their cell-phones regarding the allegations.

In Kenya’s parliamentary history, former Kanduyi MP Lawrence Sifuna is remembered for famously narrating to a stunned House in the early 1980s how he thwarted an attempt to bribe him to abscond debate on the conduct of a former a powerful minister, who was facing an inquiry over a coup plot.

Sifuna, one of the seven who wore the tag ‘Seven Bearded Sisters’ because of their radical political nature, threw the money back at the minister to the consternation of the House that was in session.