Friday, October 1, 2010

Drop these side-shows

The exchange between Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Gichugu MP Martha Karua over ethics in reference to their parliamentary colleagues would have been entertaining were it not surfacing at the wrong time.

Mr Odinga complained that Narc Kenya failed to vet a candidate who won on its ticket during the recent by-election, while the MP retorted that an individual facing a criminal case is still serving as a Cabinet minister.

It is a fact that ethics in leadership is a subject that does not seem to bother too many people in politics generally, so it is curious that it should arise now when Parliament ought to be debating more urgent matters.
The new MP, it is true, was elected under the new Constitution which dedicates a whole chapter to leadership and integrity, but why didn’t anybody raise the alarm during the campaign? Was the man not expected to win?

At the same time, it is disingenuous of Ms Karua to try to deflect a serious omission on her part by pointing fingers at others.

We expect debate in Parliament to be a lot more focused on making the new Constitution operational. Anything else is a sideshow.

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