Not all MPs in Kenya’s tenth parliament are thugs and pirates. Not MPs are all robbers who raid public coffers when the rest of Kenyans are asleep.
But we have about 30 such criminals in Parliament who are fond of passing outrageous bills that border on high treason. If they are not amending the Finance bill at night to line their pockets, they mutilate laws to allow them to hop from party to party.
And if they not doing either of these, they are busy watering down the Ethics and Integrity law to allow thieves, murderers, drug lords and rapists to continue being elected to public office.
The 30 MPs who awarded themselves cash were in cahoots with the Parliamentary Service Commission and the Minister for Finance. They must have got the nod that they could get away with it.
After all, the Speaker of the National Assembly had earlier publicly stated that MPs earned peanuts and therefore deserved a pay rise. Kenyans are no longer hurt or shocked by the strange goings on in Parliament. They have been numbed into insensivity of the MPs.
But there is one thing that citizens of this country can do. They,together with the media, can demand that the 30 MPs be named and shamed. The list of shame should be disseminated widely.
Kenyans should move to court to demand the removal of these MPs from Parliament with a proviso that they be permanently barred from holding public office.
What they did went against public morality, ethics and integrity. They misused their positions and office to enrich themselves which is an abuse of office.
Recent events in Parliament, the Executive and judiciary give an indication that our new constitution is under threat. The lords of impunity are chipping away at the constitution which was overwhelmingly accepted by the majority during the referendum.
The constitution created the Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution to be in charge of bills for the implementation of the constitution. Where does Parliament get powers to mutilate such bills to serve its selfish interests?
The same constitution created the Salaries and Remuneration Commission for all state officers in the public service. Where do parliamentarians get the powers to be the employer and employees at one and the same time?
The constitution also created the separation of powers between the three arms of government. Where does the Executive get powers to disobey court orders?
Indeed, the constitution created the Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board so where does the judiciary get the powers to halt its operations?
The blatant disregard of the constitution when it suits us in Parliament, Executive or Judiciary does not augur well for country especially at this critical moment in our history.
What happened in Parliament last week was callous and dangerous for this nation. It was the kind of act that makes governments be overthrown.
It was provocation of the highest order especially as it came so soon after the long teachers and doctors’ strike. The message these 30 MPs were sending is that indeed there is taxpayers money to be played around, however it is only they — MPs—who can enjoy the privilege.
One CIC commissioner had an interesting thing to say about this unfortunate bill. He was of the opinion that since the bill was against the constitution, it would remain a nullity even if the President signed it into law; meaning that whoever paid the MPs such amounts would be held personally responsible in a court of law.
Thank God the President rejected the Bill as unconstitutional and unsustainable However, I hope there is room for the law to go further. These 30 MPs who passed the obnoxious Bill must each be held personally responsible for planning to fraudulently obtain money from the public.
They have to be charged with economic crime and punished for it so that they become an example to others who may in future want to go through the same route in the dead of the night.
These 30 MPs may have inadvertently conspired to cause chaos in Kenya on the eve of the elections so that elections could be postponed.
Imagine what other Kenyan workers would do if they realized that there was cash to be lavished on 222 law makers and their Speaker while they went hungry every night! What would happen if all civil servants, teachers, doctors and state corporation workers downed their tools demanding pay rises?
What would happen if all the jobless youths, university students, lecturers and non teaching staff went on strike demanding jobs, allowances and more pay? What would happen if all the armed forces, the police, the military and prison guards went on strike to demand better pay and terms of service? There would be no end to chaos in Kenya. It is for these reasons that the reckless act by MPs must be stopped in its tracks.
The writer is a media consultant. jerryokungu@gmail.
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