National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale has told Senate ICT committee chairman Gideon Moi to excuse himself from the grilling of ICT CS Joe Mucheru over the shutdown of some TV stations.
Speaking at Parliament Buildings yesterday, Duale claimed the Baringo Senator owns KTN, which was shutdown alongside NTV, Citizen and Inooro during and after the swearing-in of NASA leader Raila Odinga as the ‘People’s President’.
“We expect to see the committee chairman Gideon Moi excusing himself. He owns one of the largest media stations in the country. You can’t run your business using Parliament,” Duale said.
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The committee’s vice-chair Halake Abshiro (nominated) said Mucheru will be invited to appear before it on March 6.
Duale castigated the committee for discussing the matter, saying that it is still pending in court.
“In the same vein, Parliament cannot purport to discuss a matter that is pending before the Judiciary. This is clearly outlined in the Standing Orders that a matter that is sub judice cannot be discussed in Parliament. We need to protect the independence of various arms of government,” the Garissa Town MP said.
Last Thursday, the committee accused Mucheru of undermining Parliament after failing to appear.
Mucheru wrote a letter to Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye, saying he was scheduled to attend a Cabinet meeting and would not be able to appear.
Through PS Henry Mungasia, Mucheru said he is to jet out of the country on Monday next week and return on February 26.
“Thursday is a day reserved for Cabinet meetings and the CS will not be available for this meeting. He is asking the committee to postpone the meeting to a later date,” he said.
But members, including Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’, said they had written to the CS a week ago and he did not excuse himself in advance.
“This shows the CS is undermining the oversight role of Parliament. He is in contempt of this Parliament,” Kajwang’ said.
The lawmaker said Mucheru should have sent a PS or the Communications Authority director-general to address the issues.
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“Kenyans are eager to know what the government was investigating and who was conducting the investigations during the shutdown. This is a serious issue,” he said.