Senators on Tuesday fought back at their National Assembly colleagues’ claims that they were usurping their oversight mandate in conducting parallel in grilling public officers.
The Senate County Public Accounts and Investment Committee chairman Moses Kajwang said that senators are in order to investigate matters their National Assembly counterparts are handling in the interest of the public.
National Assembly members in three committees have been angry with their Senate counterparts for “overstepping” their constitutional watchdog duties by conducting parallel inquiries into matters that do not fall under devolution.
Accused of “overstepping” are the three Senate panels: the Public Accounts and Investment Committee chaired by Senator Moses Kajwang (Homa Bay), Health chaired by Senator Michael Mbito (Trans Nzoia) and the Roads and Transportation group chaired by Senator Kimani Wamatangi (Kiambu).
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The Health Committee is accused of overstepping its mandate by probing the Kenyatta National Hospital brain surgery on the wrong patient.
The Roads and Transportation Committee is accused of inquiring into the government rollout of NYS buses in Nairobi with Sh20 fares, far less than matatu fares.
The Kajwang led watchdog committee has been faulted for holding a parallel probe into the controversial payment of Sh1.5 billion out of Sh3.3 billion in the Education ministry’s mandatory acquisition of 13.8 acres occupied by two schools in Nairobi.
Kajwang, however, said the current bicameral system of government allows committees of both Houses to inquire into same matters that are of public interest.
“There is nothing sinister about Senate and National Assembly probing any matter for public good. The country was used to the parliamentary system where only one House investigated matters but now it is a bicameral system,” Kajwang said.
He cited the recent grilling of the Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg by both the Senate and the Congress over data mining claims by Cambridge Analytica.
Senators Sam Ongeri (Kisii), Mithika Linturi (Meru), Kimani Wamatangi (Kiambu) and Mohamed Faki (Mombasa) backed Kajwang in maintaining that Senate was not going against violating the law.
National Assembly committees argue the inquiry into the two matters fall under their constitutional mandate because they are central government functions.
The brewing discord among six committees of both Houses over holding public officers to account has led three chairpersons in National Assembly panels to seek intervention from Speaker Justin Muturi.