MPs can, and must find middle ground in House

In February 2004, then Leader of the Official Opposition, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta lined up President Kibaki’s hands-off style of management for criticism, and was clearly disappointed that the ruling party was raiding Opposition parties of pliant MPs to shore up the Kibaki regime.

In the process, Kibaki was slowly emasculating the parliamentary opposition.

On May 9th, 2011, the then PNU Alliance dared their coalition partner ODM to quit parliamentary committees when they had a biter altercation over membership of the Parliamentary Committee of Justice and Legal Affairs.

The PNU Alliance threatened to invite renegade ODM MPs to replace their disgruntled colleagues and ODM blinked first. A crisis was averted and they made up to allow the trademark uneasy relationship of the Grand Coalition until the Tenth Parliament’s life ended.

Today, Uhuru is President and leader of the Jubilee coalition, with clear majority in both lower and upper Houses. Two days ago, House business came under threat when the opposition CORD withdrew its members from all parliamentary committees until it is given chairmanship and majority members in the key Public Investment Committee (PIC) and Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The stage was set for an acrimonious afternoon in the Chamber with claims that MPs now allied to CORD had plotted an amendment of Standing Orders on January 9th as the Tenth Parliament was winding down, in the mistaken hope that their parties would carry the day in the March 4, 2013 general election.

We posit that Kenyans do not really care what underhand deals were cut or mistakes made to create the current standoff. The court of public opinion would show that MPs cannot be legislators as well as lawbreakers.

However, they are first among equals and have a responsibility to negotiate contentious matters soberly. They are called upon to be the arbiters of Kenya’s hopelessly divided national psyche.

They are expected to actively seek consensus and work together in the National Interest and drive a common development agenda. Tantrums and chest thumping are lost on the public. Talk and find a middle ground.