Central Kenya MPs jittery after Maina expulsion

By Francis Ngige

The expulsion of Mathira MP Ephraim Maina from Safina has heightened anxiety among other MPs and residents from central Kenya.

With majority of MPs from the region belonging to fringe parties, there is fear that these parties may go the Safina way and kick out the dissenting members.

Most legislators belong to Safina, Narc Kenya, Pick, Kanu, Sisi Kwa Sisi, PPK and the Democratic Party, and they have openly associated with PNU while others have publicly stated their support for presidential aspirants from parties other than their own.

"We expect that our parties will understand that we are part of the PNU coalition that brought President Kibaki to power.

We cannot stand alone without PNU," said an MP from the region who did not want to be named.

He claimed that some of the decisions being made by parties were aimed at intimidating them.

Outspoken Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni (PNU) said although the issue of party discipline was paramount, parties should avoid witch hunting.

"The question most of us are asking is, has Safina fulfilled all the provisions of the Political Parties Act? It should not throw stones while living in a glass house," Kioni warned.

Exercise in futility

He said a ruling concerning the issue of party membership had been made in Parliament and it was, therefore, an exercise in futility for parties to seek to expel errant members.

Echoing Kioni’s sentiments, Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau (PNU) said once an MP was elected, it would be difficult to gag them. "The worst the parties can do is deny the MP a ticket to vie in subsequent election, but they cannot make them lose their seats," Kamau asserted.

Dismissing the expulsion of Maina from Safina, Kamau said: "We know what they are after. If Maina was supporting Raila, he would not have been chased away from the party."

Mwea MP Peter Gitau called for sobriety, saying the issue might turn chaotic if other parties took up the trend. Gitau said there should be an understanding in political parties that stating an opinion or supporting another politician must not be construed to mean defiance.

However, it is expected that small parties would try to carve a national niche by trying to punish errant members. Already, Safina, which has cut links with Maina for allegedly associating with rival political parties, announced it was also investigating other "wayward" members.

Party leader Paul Muite said in Nyeri that apart from Maina, Safina was investigating other members deemed to be working against it.

"It is not about the issue of personalities; we are looking at the conduct of other members and if we find them going against the party, a similar process will follow," Muite said.

Maina besieged

As Muite made the pronouncement, a besieged Maina remained defiant, dismissing the party’s decision to expel him as malicious, illegal and baseless.

Maina claimed that he was not served with the necessary document requiring him to appear before the party’s disciplinary panel.

Speaking when he hosted civic leaders from Nyeri County, the MP said he has instead instructed his lawyers to take legal action against Safina.

"The alleged expulsion is baseless, illegal and null and void. I have instructed my lawyers to take appropriate action against the party," he said.

He observed that the strategy taken by the party was not applicable under the Constitution or the party’s laws.

Safina is the second party to flex it muscles to tame dissent after Narc-Kenya, which cautioned Juja MP William Kabogo and his Makadara counterpart Gideon Mbuvi.

In a move aimed at instilling party discipline, parties are warning members to toe the line or face the music.

In Mathira, talks of an impending by-election are rife with some demanding that House Speaker Kenneth Marende declares the seat vacant.

"We want election held as soon as possible so that we can start enjoying the fruits of the Constitution. We need MPs who are ready to respect institutions," said Martin Nderitu, a resident of Tumu Tumu.

Nderitu said it was self-defeatist for Maina to claim to belong to Safina yet "he is regularly in the news supporting other parties".

But a section of the MP’s supporters held a demonstration protesting against his expulsion, claiming instead that he was being unfairly targeted for exercising his freedom of expression and association.