Claims of extortion at the heart of parallel probes by MPs

Claims of extortion and a scheme to make more money in allowances are being cited as the motive behind parallel investigations by parliamentary committees.

Rival National Assembly and Senate committees are said to be working at cross-purposes on at least four investigations, raising protests from House leaders about wasting of public funds.

But besides the scramble for sitting allowances, a more sinister motive is quietly being cited within Parliament’s corridors – that only matters involving huge amounts of money and alleged corruption have attracted parallel probes.

An ongoing investigation into how a landowner was paid Sh1.5 billion by the State for acquisition of land – with an additional Sh1.7 billion in pending payment – is one such case before both National Assembly and Senate committees.

Multi-billion shilling procurement deals at the electoral commission, the deployment of National Youth Service buses on city routes and the recent surgery debacle at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) are other matters that have had parallel investigations.

National Assembly Leader of Majority Aden Duale, his Minority counterpart John Mbadi and Senate Leader of Majority Kipchumba Murkomen yesterday said the circus and wastage must end.

Change report

But Mr Mbadi was more blunt, saying some of the parallel probes were motivated by kickbacks. He told The Standard of a case in which the chairman of a watchdog committee in the previous Parliament who is also a serving MP tried to change a report by the committee after being influenced.

“One time we threatened to impeach him until he backed off. He wanted to change our report and we threatened to expose him. That report never came to Parliament,” said Mbadi.

He cited the worrying trend of committees initiating multiple probes on matters that curiously involved a lot of money.

“I just hope that these multiple investigations are not motivated by other things that are not objective. I want to be honest with you. If you follow issues that attract multiple investigations, you will find that they involve a lot of resources and the morality of the motivation could be in question. I hope you understand what I mean,” said Mbadi.

“The committees should be objective. Let them not be motivated by things we hear people talk about outside here. They taint the image of the two Houses; maybe it is just a few bad apples."

Claims of bribery have rocked Parliament in the past. In 2015, the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly was disbanded and its then chairman – alongside four other members – barred from being part of the reconstituted team after members accused them of bribery.

The parallel investigations have also raised concerns about wastage of public funds in allowances for members. Besides sitting allowances, other expenses incurred during a committee investigation include travel to areas of interest, which could extend abroad depending on the scope of the probe.

The National Assembly has a total of 28 committees with membership of between 19 and 25 while the Senate has 19 committees. Currently, the Senate Public Accounts and Investment Committee (PAIC) and National Assembly Committee on Land are conducting a parallel investigation on the Sh3.3 billion land the Ministry of Education is acquiring for Ruaraka Secondary and Drive In Primary schools.

Sitting allowances

The Land committee chaired by Kitui South MP Rachael Nyamai has spent at least Sh485,000 in allowances in the five sittings it has held, assuming all members attended. The figure is higher once catering services and other expenses are factored in.

The committee has 19 members, with the chairperson entitled to Sh7,000 per sitting while the rest receive Sh5,000 for every session attended.

PAIC, led by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang, has nine members. They have had two meetings.

Interestingly, National Land Commission chairman Muhammad Swazuri has appeared twice before the two committees, giving the same documents and repeating the same statements, begging the question why the two committees should not consider a joint sitting.

Yesterday, Mr Duale said National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi and his Senate counterpart Ken Lusaka should provide clear guidelines on committee mandates of the two Houses to end further duplication of roles.

“There is a lot of confusion going on. You will see duplication of committees in both Houses. The Constitution is clear on the role of each House as provided for in articles 93, 94, 95 and 96,” he said.

“Once a committee of one House is investigating a matter, it is not proper for another House to start investigating it. This thing happened in the 10th Parliament on the KQ matter. Now it is happening on the Ruaraka land issue and IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission). How did the Senate start investigating the land issue? In the National Assembly, there was a petition," he said.

“I want to call a meeting with the leaders of the two Houses led by the two speakers. There must be value for taxpayers’ money."

Kajwang defended his committee’s investigation into the Ruaraka land sale and denied any sinister motives.

“It is a complex matter, that is why it is being prosecuted by the two Houses.”

But Mbadi said the Senate should restrict itself to matters touching on counties.

“Given the wastage we see in the counties, the Senate needs to focus on county issues. I really don’t know where PAIC is coming in to handle the land matter,” he said.

Mr Murkomen suggested that the two Houses consider joint sittings when dealing with the same matter.

“The motivating factor could be the overwhelming public interest. The committee of each House wants to pronounce itself on the matters,” he said.

Joint sittings

“In terms of synergising resources, it is important for the two Houses to adopt a system of joint sittings so they write a joint report for tabling in the two Houses. The advantage of the two Houses sitting separately is that one House may bring out issues that the other may not have looked at,” he noted.

The National Assembly Health Committee chaired by Sabina Chege held several sittings over the KNH saga and have since tabled a report in the House.

The Senate team under Senator Michael Mbito (Trans Nzoia) also grilled Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki on the matter. It has not released its findings.

Last Thursday, the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee summoned IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati and his two remaining commissioners only for a Senate team to summon the three the next day. Both sittings aborted.