Thursday, December 16, 2010

MPs put Kalonzo in a spot, demand Government stand on Ocampo six

Altercations reigned in the House between MPs and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka over the Government position over The Hague and the absence of Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
MPs led by Bonny Khalwale, Danson Mungatana and Isaac Ruto demanded that House Speaker summons Raila to the House to issue a Government statement on its stand on the matter.
The move by International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to announce the names of six suspects linked to post-election violence dominated the afternoon session.
Members who spoke demanded an instant Government position on the matter.
Some MPs wondered if President Kibaki and Raila were still in charge and whether the country’s sovereignty was still in place.
National accord
Khalwale said Raila or the President ought to have been in the House to shed light on the issues affecting the republic and that Kalonzo, who was not a signatory to the national accord, was least qualified to calm the country over the matter.
"We are demanding that the PM be summoned to explain what the Government is doing to calm the citizens in the face of what the ICC has done today," said Mungatana.
Khalwale said those mentioned were respected politicians and the country deserved a statement to set the record straight.
"The PM would have explained if the six names were those handed to him by Justice Waki or those were his own. If they are not the ones Waki gave him then we would conclude that the whole move is political," said the Ikolomani MP.
Mungatana said he expected the official Government position made on the floor of the House for the MPs to interrogate.
But Kalonzo assured the concerned MPs the Government will issue an official stand on their concerns soon.
"We are still consulting and as Government we will be issuing a statement soon," said the VP.
Cabinet Minister John Michuki and MPs John Muthuto, Ruto and Adan Duale said the country was tensed and deserved a statement by either the President or the premier on whether the Government was still in control or Kenya "has suddenly become a Banana republic".
Special treatment
But Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang’s assertion that the issue was un-procedural before the House since no MP had sought for an adjournment of the House to discuss the Moreno-Ocampo action as a matter of national importance was turned down by Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim, who said the position sought by the MPs did not require the House to adjourn.
"The issue being discussed does not require any special treatment on the floor of the House. Any minister can explain a Government position any time," said the Speaker.
The VP informed the House that the PM whose time elapsed without any statement, as is the procedure, was away on official duties in Uganda.
Reports by Beauttah Omanga and Peter Opiyo

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