- Group made up of mostly business stakeholders in transport has resisted the government’s attempts to force importers to haul their cargo via the SGR.
- The lobby supports Nyali MP Mohammed Ali’s impeachment motion against Transport CS James Macharia.
A business lobby group has commenced the process of recalling two MPs in Mombasa.
Fast Action Business Community, mostly made up of business stakeholders in transport, has been calling for freedom of choice in hauling cargo, against the government’s attempts to force importers to use the SGR.
The lobby has been threatening to recall Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo and his Likoni counterpart Mishi Mboko over their public opposition to Nyali MP Mohammed Ali’s impeachment motion against Transport CS James Macharia.
FABC secretary general Harriet Muganda has accused the two of betraying their electorate by supporting a CS they say has been working “to kill the economy of Mombasa county and the Coast region.”
Speaking at Parliament Buildings, Mbogo and Mboko last Thursday publicly rebuked Ali saying his motion was populist and that he was only seeking to endear himself to Mombasa residents in preparation for a stab at the governor's position.
“If we are looking for the governor's position, let us use different means. Let us not bring populist motions that will not help the common mwananchi,” Mbogo said last Thursday.
He said MPs from the Coast held meetings with Macharia and Interior CS Fred Matiang’i about the SGR and that “basically, the orders (forcing cargo haulage by SGR) were suspended.”
However, Ali said his interest was protecting Mombasa and Coast residents and not the governor's position. He said he will seek to retain his seat in 2022.
FABC, Haki Africa and Kenya Transporters Association, however, accused Mbogo and Mboko of sacrificing the interests of their electorate for their own selfish interests.
On Monday, Muganda led FABC members to the Mombasa IEBC offices to seek guidance on how to go about recalling the two MPs.
“We were asked to move to court first to seek a court interpretation of a certain clause the MPs inserted. Now we are in talks with one of our lawyers for advice and the way forward,” Muganda said.
Bobby Mkangi, a member of the Committee of Experts that wrote the 2010 Constitution, on Monday told the Star the procedure of recalling an MP was long and cumbersome but doable.
“First, the MP must have served for at least 24 months (two years) and not later than 12 months immediately preceding the next General Election. They inserted this to protect themselves,” Mkangi saidon phone.
According to the Elections Act, 2011, an MP can only be recalled if found, after due process, to have violated the provisions of Chapter Six of the Constitution, mismanaged public resources or is convicted of an offence under the Elections Act.
The Act further says that recall of an MP shall only be initiated upon a judgement or finding by the High Court confirming the grounds specified.
The process starts with a written petition filed with the IEBC, which should be signed by a petitioner who is a voter in the constituency represented by the MP and who was registered to vote in the elections where the MP elected.
The petition must be accompanied by an order of the High Court.
The petition shall specify the grounds for the recall of the MP, have signatures of at least 30 per cent of the voters in the constituency and be accompanied by the fee prescribed for an election petition.
The list must have names of at least 15 per cent of the voters in more than half of the wards in the constituency.
The petitioner shall collect and submit to the commission the list of the names within 30 days after filing the petition.
The commission shall verify the list of names within 30 days of receipt.
If satisfied that all the requirements are met, the commission shall within 15 days after the verification issue a notice of the recall to the Speaker of the relevant House, the National Assembly or the Senate.
The commission shall conduct a recall election within the relevant constituency within 90 days of the publication of the question.
Mkangi said the long process is what discourages people from pursuing this route and prefer waiting for the next general election to vote out the unwanted MP.
Muganda said though the process is long and tedious, “we are determined to do it.”
Mbogo on Tuesday said he was not afraid of any action by the FABC, which he said was being funded by a big transport firm that missed slots in the Naivasha Dry Port.
“They know the truth but they do not want to speak. As long as we deliver in Kisauni, I am not worried. Let them do what they want. Our focus is development,” said Mbogo, through his protocol and communications director Richard Mwasingo.
Mboko said the group was free to do what they think was right.
“They have their own yardstick with which they measure what is wrong and what is right. It is up to them. We are waiting to see how it goes,” said Mboko through his personal assistant Mohamed Nyembwe.
Edited by Henry Makori