President William Ruto’s lecture on Members of Parliament concerning corruption has backfired as lawmakers have allegedly began to absent themselves from the August House in retaliation to the attack.
Two weeks after resuming sittings, the speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula has been having a difficult time running house business due to continued absenteeism of lawmakers.
According to insiders and a section of Members of Parliament who spoke to the media on condition of anonymity, members did not take Ruto’s corruption tag lightly.
The corruption tag has allegedly demoralized, demotivated and made some of the lawmakers feel unwanted in the house.
As a result, they have decided to skip sittings.Some members allegedly report to Parliament buildings, engage in informal meetings in their lobbies, rush to register their attendance in the chamber after the quorum is reached then immediately leave.
This forced speaker Wetangula to issue strong warning to committee chairpersons and deputies whose continued absenteeism threatens the normal functioning of the National Assembly.
Last month, Ruto went all out and accused some of the legislators of demanding bribes from governors and other state officials who appear before them to answer queries raised by the Auditor General on financial spending.
“You people saw what happened, we were accused of corruption. We now only come to the house when our interests are at stake,” said a lawmaker who sought anonymity.
Ideally, when you count the total number of committee chairpersons and their deputies, the total number exceeds the quorum needed in the national assembly. The lack of quorum therefore shows absenteeism at the highest level.
According to the law, a Member of Parliament can lose his seat if fails to attend 8 consecutive sessions.
