All MPs have oversight role over Executive

The scenes that followed the ruling by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula on the Majority side were unfortunate. Leaders allied to President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza side celebrated the verdict while MPs allied to Azimio One Kenya cried foul.

So unruly was the situation that the Speaker was forced to prematurely adjourn Thursday's sitting.

Away from the celebrations and protests the MPs from the two divides must realise that Parliament is an arm of the Government just like the Executive and Judiciary. The Constitution assigns Parliament three key roles: Lawmaking, budget allocation and oversight. Parliament has the noble obligation of making sure the Executive is properly implementing the law and prudently using public resources.

This role of keeping the Executive in check is not an exclusive duty of those allied to the losing presidential candidate as many of them might think.

In the presidential system, that we are in, Members of Parliament should act like a corporate entity and stand free from the Executive regardless of their political affiliations. A parliament that appreciates its power will always have a leash on the Executive and not the other way around.

This is the reason every MP takes the oath of office that requires them to "obey, respect, uphold, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya". They also commit to constantly and vigilantly review the executive branch of government that administers the laws.

Leaders aligned to the Majority side should not behave like they are out to "protect and defend the president" thereby brooking no dissent and demonising opponents.

A Parliament that operates optimally will have an upper hand of all State organs including the Presidency to the benefit of the citizens. This is why all eyes will be on Wetang'ula and his Senate counterpart Amason Kingi, whose overriding priority is the protection of their independence.

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We call upon every Member of Parliament to see the big picture and the great responsibility the Constitution has accorded the State entity they belong to. May they not walk the path of the 12th Parliament that served not the interests of the people, but partisan political interests largely driven by self-preservation.

The nation's political records and the Hansard will speak of an entity that was fashioned for democracy but degenerated into a tool in the hands of a superior political class and its brokers. Whenever they were called upon, they responded but not to deliberate, but were sufficiently humbled to yield to legislative and political instructions from the Executive.

May this never be said of the 13th Parliament.