EACC to quiz 15 Meru reps over assembly fracas

Chaos erupted in the assembly on April 11. [Courtesy]

The anti-graft agency has summoned 15 members of Meru County Assembly following a brawl in the chambers last April.

The MCAs are alleged to have exchanged blows following differences over the swearing-in of a nominated colleague in April, prompting their summoning by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

The MCAs fought inside the assembly on April 11 during the nomination of MCA Secondina Kanini to replace Lucy Waithera, a nominated MCA, who had resigned from the Kenya Patriots Party.

The session had been peaceful but quickly degenerated into violent confrontation as sharp divisions emerged among the MCAs. The fist fight sparked off when some members tried to grab the Mace to stop proceedings.

Some MCAs described Kanini as a project fronted by the county’s executive.

As a result the EACC Chief Executive Officer Twalib Mbarak has summoned the county assembly legislators to record statements on what transpired that day in a schedule released by the commission.

The letter dated June 7, was addressed to the clerk of the assembly Justus Kiambi Ariithi and copied to Speaker Joseph Kaberia. It asks the MCAs to shed light on the matter.

The letter explained that the commission was probing the matter pursuant to its constitutional mandate set out under Article 252 and Section 11 of the EACC Act 2011, and Section 37 of the Leadership and Integrity Act 2012.

When contacted, Mr Mbarak said the MCAs would give their statements in an exercise that would last two days - Wednesday and Thursday.