The unity pact between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nasa leader Raila Odinga, popularly known as the 'handshake', has left an opposition vacuum that MPs claim has enhanced Parliament's oversight role.
Last Tuesday, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi told the House that Cabinet secretaries are not above the law and should honour invites from committees to answer their questions.
Muturi said CSs have no excuse not to appear before the committees and warned that stern action will be taken against those who fail to honour the invites. He was responding to MPs' concerns.
Muturi directed committee chairpersons to furnish the names of the CSs who deliberately snub invites.
“If a committee determines that a person deliberately failed to appear, the team should communicate to us so
the Powers and Privileges Committees can issue summons,” Muturi said.
So has the handshake really strengthened Parliament's hand?
The 12th Parliament began with persistent House boycotts by Nasa lawmakers who pledged not to recognise
Uhuru as the legitimately elected President.
Speaking to
Siasa,
Majority Chief Whip Benjamin Washiali said Parliament has changed its mode of operation since the handshake but superficial cordiality was not an automatic guarantee the President's agenda would sail through.
Washiali said the opposition and government factions in Parliament have been weeded out and they were working as a team for the best interest of Kenyans.
"As it stands now, it is not automatic for the President to get support from Parliament. Issues brought to the House must be logical for us to support them.
With or without the handshake, our role of keeping the government in check is still there," the Mumias East MP said.
"As Majority Chief Whip, my role is to convince members to go along with government decisions. But at the end of the day, the MPs represent Kenyans and they always consult their electorates."
He said that the "new team of legislators" is geared towards supporting the President in fighting graft and effectively implementing its role of budgeting and oversight.
"Recently, Jubilee MPs
opposed the decision of government during the VAT debate. The government almost got defeated. This means the new system in Parliament
is working for Kenyans," Washiali said.
Wrangles in the National Assembly began after the Supreme Court upheld the election of Uhuru during the repeat presidential poll on October 26 and his inauguration in November.
The MPs resolved to boycott parliamentary activities, including passing crucial laws and vetting nominees for public office.
But in January,
Kitutu Chache South MP Richard Onyonka declared that he
recognises
Uhuru as the legitimate President of Kenya.
The MP, who was elected on Nasa's Ford Kenya party ticket, told the media at Parliament Buildings that Uhuru was legally in office — diverging sharply from the alliance's stance.
"Rais wa Kenya ni Uhuru. Ukiangalia kisheria aliapishwa akapewa
instruments of power.
Yeye ndiye
president
wa Kenya," he said.
("Uhuru is the President of Kenya, having been sworn in and given the instruments of power.")
President Kenyatta officially opened the
12th Parliament despite Nasa MPs skipping the occasion, arguing that
the Supreme Court's nullification of his August 8 reelection voided authority.
He went ahead to address the
joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate, both dominated
by Jubilee.
But barely a week after Uhuru and Raila entered into a unity pact with the handshake on March 9, the long-standing tension between the opposition and Jubilee largely evaporated.
Minority leader John Mbadi said at the time, “There will be no party alignments of Jubilee or Nasa. We will be handling issues the way the parliamentary system should work. The House will oversight the Executive without being petty.”
Mbadi, who is also the ODM party chairman and
Suba South MP, said they had resolved to call off the House boycotts.
The Raila Odinga-led ODM party enjoys numerical
strength in the National Assembly and Senate, after President Kenyatta's Jubilee Party. Kalonzo Musyoka's Wiper Party follows.
Recently, Raila was appointed the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa.
Last week,
Kalonzo — Raila's running mate during the August 8 presidential election — was elevated to the
role of Kenya's special peace envoy.
Public Accounts Committee chairman
Opiyo Wandayi said the handshake of cooperation has not been entrenched in Parliament and MPs
would continue "slaying the dragon of corruption".
"PAC is doing serious reports, despite the handshake. We are playing our role more robustly without fear, favour or influence of whatever kind.
Corruption is the number one threat to Kenya's survival. Parliament must play its part. The new PAC is more than equal to the task," the Ugunja MP said.
Wandayi, who is also ODM director of political affairs, said the minority party in the House was steadfast in providing effective oversight to Uhuru's administration.
"The handshake is out there but not in Parliament.
As MPs from the minority party, we are doing our role of oversight effectively. We are putting the government under close check," he said.
Previously, opposition MPs had on many occasions given House and committee activities a wide berth. This angered their Jubilee counterparts, who accused them of serving their own interests.
In November last year, MPs proceeded on a three-week recess, a day after resuming sittings.
Muturi had told the lawmakers of challenges entangling the House in dealing with some business due to the lack of Nasa's representation on departmental committees
“My office has received many petitions from Kenyans but my hands remain tied as they cannot be dispensed without first being tackled by committees,” Muturi told members.
By then, Nasa was yet to pick its members for leadership positions in the House before they had taken a short recess.