'Kenya Moja' MPs are inspired by selflessness or selfishness

A group of youthful legislators under the banner Kenya Moja, led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna (centre) address a past press conference. [File, Standard]

The bandwagon of the so-called patriotic Members of Parliament may find solace in the adage better late than never. That is, if they are truly defining a new route away from the majority of their colleagues who have squandered their representative mandate. The relatively youthful and vociferous MPs and Senators seem to understand simmering public rage against the 13th Parliament. This may be their reason for jumping out of the sinking ship.

Cynics know this Parliament is complicit in legislative decisions and indecisions that undermine the economy of the tax-burdened masses. The supposed public watchdog has become so tied to the Executive it cannot play an independent monitor of power.

There are two quick interpretations of the delayed consciousness of the so-called ‘Kenya Moja troupe: One is survival — their own survival. These MPs don’t want to be among the 80 per cent or so of their colleagues who may be ejected from their privileged perch during the 2027 General Election.

The second interpretation is subject to the test of time: Are these MPs acting out of patriotism or responding to the bite of the survival bug? Time will tell wherein lies their inspiration to rebel against conventional behaviour of routine legislators.

‘Kenya Moja’ MPs are a cross-party splinter of about 70 lawmakers who style themselves as a ‘third force’, or the ‘real force’ in the hubris-laced parlance of their leaders. They hope to walk away from the Orange Democratic Movement-United Democratic Alliance’ ‘broad-based’ regime.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino is the declared face of this ‘progressive’ political troupe, with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna crooning for good governance from inside the Orange Democratic Movement, where he is the secretary general. UDA’s Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, and Saboti MP Caleb Amisi, another ODM-sponsored legislator, are also aligned to this supposedly progressive group.

While still inside their sponsoring parties, the MPs are peeing inside a movement that has declared love for the proceeds of government. Sifuna’s take about the so-called ‘broad-based government, represents a challenging position: As the ODM party spokesperson, is the Senator expressing the views of the party, or is he caught between the present and the future?

The relative youthfulness of the so-called alternative block of enlightened legislators may explain their undecided radicalism: They need a survival lever beyond 2027. Most of them are below age 50, and most of them largely depend on their parliamentary positions as a form of employment and income.

Most of them may be eyeing re-election but are not sure of the party ticket. They are, therefore, repositioning themselves for survival. But they have gone quiet lately.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja complicates the equation for Babu and Sifuna. Their party leadership has shown preference for the incumbent governor. At least when Baba was hail. The rescue of Sakaja from the paws of outraged Members of County Assembly (MCAs), early this year, sent a signal to the two disenchanted MPs. Sakaja's rescue represented ODM’s pro-Sakaja bias.

The desperation of impeached senator Gloria Orwoba is a lesson to these legislators: They don’t want to lose access to a well-paying job at a time the economy is tanking. They don’t want to face the gallows in 2027, when most of their complicit and complacent colleagues would be evicted from their elective spaces.

These progressives have decided to think beyond patronage that enslaves some of their colleagues. Nominated MPs, Senators and MCAs especially, are unlikely to deviate from the politics of patronage. They are therefore unlikely to pander to any other patrons other than their benefactors. The Orwoba eviction is too close to ignore. They are unlikely to board the Babu Owino-Sifuna-Amisi train of independent thinking. Most of the 70 or so MPs claimed to be linked to the amorphous ’Kenya Moja’ are yet to show their faces. 

Independence? Not quite — would Babu dissent if his late party mentor wasn’t supporting Nairobi Governor — his possible 2027 rival for the gravy train? Your guess is as good as that of cynics. This coincidence — the nexus between selfishness and patriotism — is what Kenya needs to create a critical mass of ‘independent’ MPs.

Mr Okech is a university journalism lecturer and climate change actions advocate