Mutito MP Kiema Kilonzo has vowed to relinquish his parliamentary seat if bribery allegations leveled against him by an assistant minister are proved.
The MP, who is seeking to be Governor of Kitui County, made the declaration in Parliament on Thursday.
He said claims that he tried to extort Sh6.6 million from Mastermind Tobacco Ltd had damaged his reputation.
National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende directed Finance Assistant Minister Oburu Odinga to furnish his office with evidence on the extortion claims and report the incident to the Police Commissioner.
Marende said he had been prompted to address the matter after widespread reports of bribery allegations against members that had tainted the image of Parliament in the recent past.
He equally directed Gichugu MP Martha Karua and Nominated MP Millie Odhiambo to report to the police about bribery allegations they made against their colleagues.
The two had alleged that some legislators received Sh50,000 to oppose a clause in the Finance Bill that placed a cap on bank interest rates.
Parliament on Thursday expunged from its records bribery allegations against Kiema and stopped the Powers and Privileges committee from investigating the claims.
Marende said the process that culminated in the ruling issued by his deputy Farah Maalim last week was against the House Standing Orders.
He drew the attention of members to the provision of the Standing Order 79 (4), which states that no MP shall impute improper motive against another without filling a specific substantive Motion at least three days before putting in question the conduct of that member.
Marende noted that allegations against Kiema and other previous ones made on the floor of the House had tainted Parliament.
privileges of Parliament
"These allegations have been followed swiftly by other similar allegations made in the Press and elsewhere in the public domain. Without commenting on the veracity or otherwise of these yet unproven claims, I wish to state categorically that in my capacity as the Speaker of the National Assembly, I do not and shall not condone the use of this House or the membership in it for purposes of, or as avenues for corruption or other criminal conduct," Marende said.
The Speaker told members that no privileges of Parliament shield any person from criminal prosecution for corruption or extortion.
Marende warned that in future action would be taken against any member who made unsubstantiated corruption allegations against their colleagues on the floor of the House.
But Karua, who stood on a point of order, protested the directive saying it amounted to gagging MPs.
"Mr Speaker I am just concerned that action will be taken on anyone who has talked about corruption on the floor of the House, but on matters relating to the interest rate that passed last week, I have information from two members that PNU MPs were paid at Pan Afric Hotel while the ODM legislators converged at the gazebo to receive their bribes of Sh50,000," claimed Karua.
Kiema told the House the claims by Oburu had injured his reputation as a father and a leader and maintained that he was performing national duty in asking the question.
-Stories by Steve Mkawale, Alex Ndegwa and Peter Opiyo
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