Will MPs impeach Speaker Muturi, Duale and Mbadi?

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi during the State of the Nation address at Parliament on Wednesday 02/05/18. [Boniface Okendo,Standard]

Parliament is resuming sitting in the backdrop of temperatures generated by the storming passing of an amended Finance bill 2018 into law.

Such is the bad blood generated by the law that MPs from both ODM and Jubilee are planning to impeach House Speaker Justin Muturi, Majority Leader Aden Duale and Minority Leader and John Mbadi, a herculean task by any measure.

On September 20, the law sailed through after the majority of MPs opposed to the eight per cent value added tax on petroleum products a raft of other taxes, were shrewdly defeated by denying the National Assembly the requisite two-thirds majority (233) required to override the President’s recommendations on the Finance Bill 2018.

The controversial vote meant besides the fuel tax, salaried workers will hand a fraction of their pay to the Government to finance a housing project, mobile phone users will incur additional duty and bank transfer costs as the Jubilee administration struggles to plug a budget hole created by rising expenditure and shrinking revenues.

 From a walkout to scuttle any amendments and claims by one member that some of his colleagues had surrendered their electronic voting cards to further bring down the numbers, to others trooping to the toilet, it all pointed to a well-calculated scheme to ensure that the Government carried the day.

Duale and his Minority and Mbadi plotted a walkout from the chambers that effectively handed Uhuru a win on the basis of lack of quorum - triggering a fierce row that forced Speaker Justin Muturi to return to the chamber to restore order.

Later an unapologetic Duale would say they had to use all tricks in the book to ensure the law was passed, hence the clamour for his impeachment.