NASA-Jubilee wars played out on the floor of the House yesterday as MPs engaged in a heated debate over nominees to the Parliamentary Service Commission.
NASA had substituted Vihiga Senator George Khaniri’s name with Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo’s, but the decision boomeranged.
This was after Majority leader Aden Duale moved a notice of motion to approve the seven PSC nominees which included Borabu MP Ben Momanyi’s name and not Mutula’s.
Read :
This sparked protests from Minority leader John Mbadi who maintained NASA had submitted the names of Kilonzo, Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay) and Aisha Jumwa (Malindi) as nominees to the PSC. He said Momanyi’s name was not in the list NASA forwarded.
“The communication from the minority can only be done by me. No other person can purport to communicate NASA coalition decisions,” said the Suba South MP.
But Duale said Wiper as a parliamentary party qualifies for a slot at the PSC and vowed that Momanyi’s name will be on the floor for voting.
“Momanyi is not a surrogate. He is a Member of Parliament by right and a member of Wiper. Do not discriminate against your members,” protested Duale.
“There are no sacred cows, neither is there an animal farm here in Parliament,” he told the House as he chided ODM.
Momanyi enjoys the support of Jubilee MPs and might easily sail through during voting today.
Kitui Central MP Makau Mulu of Wiper, warned that the party will no longer stomach abuses from other affiliate parties within NASA.
“We cannot allow a one term MP who has not even defended his seat abuse our party leader. We respect all our partners and we also demand respect,” he said.
Mulu, an ally of Kalonzo, said Momanyi’s name should be in the ballot.
“Momanyi is a Wiper member; let us have an opportunity to vote for whoever we want as a House,” he said.
But Kisumu West MP Olago Aluoch (Ford Kenya), warned Momanyi against being used by Jubilee to wreak NASA.
“If I were Momanyi I would be the last person accepting my name to be fronted by Jubilee. They want to break NASA. Its MPs’ welfare which is at stake now,” he said.
Speaking to the issue, Speaker Justin Muturi defended Duale against attacks from NASA MPs who accused him of sneaking Momanyi’s name to PSC through the backdoor.
“If is not the majority leader who nominated Momanyi, he has just moved the motion with the names as the representative of the House Business Committee which approved the motion,” Muturi said.
“It is upon this House to nominate to make decision on the people they desire during the time of voting,” he said.
He said Momanyi’s name had been properly forwarded to the House by Wiper party alongside with National Executive Council minutes endorsing him.
Muturi, who gave the MPs the chronology of the stalemate since last December, said Wiper as a parliamentary party with 0.48 per cent of the representation in the House is qualified for a PSC slot.
He said while the Parliamentary Service Act states that the ruling party or coalition is entitled to four slots, the same law only talks about parties not forming the government and not coalition.
This technically means that it is opposition parties which forward names of their nominees to the House and not coalitions.
“Using the formula we used in EALA nominations, wiper qualifies for one slot,” ruled Muturi.