Parliament adjourned for two hours yesterday evening to discuss ‘the imminent collapse’ of the national carrier, Kenya Airways.
The motion for adjournment was moved by leader of majority in the National Assembly Aden Duale, but it is doubtful that this was done out of altruistic reasons.
There were delays by the national carrier on Sunday that saw passengers wait for more than two hours. Some of the travellers in Nairobi had to be booked into a hotel overnight because of the delays which, apparently, were not explained.
Mr Aden Duale happened to be one of those caught in the inconvenience. Mr Duale shouldn’t have interrupted House business because of a minor inconvenience to him as a person. The mere act of doing so could be seen as amounting to abuse of office, abuse of privilege and misuse of the august House.
Frequent travellers will attest to the fact that delayed flights are not a new phenomenon, yet never before has Parliament been adjourned to discuss the matter. This latest delay therefore does not warrant the National Assembly to detract from its core business of legislating.
Politicising the matter of the losses made by the national carrier is not in the interest of the country, for it is not lost on Kenyans the trajectory that is designed to take.
The name of Opposition leader Raila Odinga has been adversely mentioned in relation to the losses made by Kenya Airways, an allegation that Mr Odinga has vehemently denied and threatened to take legal measures against all concerned for what he sees as a smear campaign against him.
It will only compound matters if Parliament is used to raise issues that would be better left to investigative authorities to establish their authenticity. Leaders should at all times desist from politicising every matter in sight for political mileage.
