It began with an attack on the Salaries and Remuneration Commission over its move to set the pay of Members of the National Assembly.
In fact, a Member of the House even had the gall last week to quote out of context the famous words of anti-Nazi German pastor and theologian Martin Niemöller in defending the MPs’ push to fatten their pay cheques:
They have the numbers to force President Uhuru to set up a tribunal they hope will send the SRC commissioners home, but the legislators also want to weaken other constitutional commissions under the guise of trimming the public wage bill.
This is impunity at its most brazen. MPs must stay away from independent commissions whose mandates are secured by the Constitution.
MPs are trying to demonise the commissions to turn public limelight away from their own greed while casting themselves as working for the public good.
They want to reduce the number of constitutional commissions and make them operate part-time.
No shortcuts
While it looks and sounds noble, the savings to be made by such a venture would be a drop in the ocean compared to what the country can gain from slashing MPs’ salaries.
In short, it would not make much of a difference to the overall wage bill.
Also, to get rid of any commission, the MPs must comply with Articles 251 and 255 (1) of the Constitution.
There are no shortcuts and they should not fool Kenyans.
Independent Commissions do not operate at the behest of Parliament or the Executive but the Constitution, which is the sovereign, will of the people of Kenya.
MPs are trying to erode the independence of the commissions and subject them to the whims of Parliament and the Executive. If that happens, there is no knowing where it will end.
The commissions were created out of realisation that entrenched self-interest and corruption in Government rendered it unable to fulfil certain key roles laid out in the Constitution. They must be allowed to do their work.
