• Senators Charles Kibiru (Kirinyaga, who chairs the committee), Christopher Langat (Bomet), Mwangi Githiomi (Nyandarua) and a clerk have been in Berlin for a week.
• Speaker Lusaka, however, says they are not stuck but are making arrangements to fly back.
Image: BRIAN OJAMAA
Four senators and a parliamentary staff member are stuck in Germany as various international airlines restrict flights over fear of the coronavirus.
At least 157 people have been infected in Germany.
The legislators, members of the Trade Committee, had flown to Germany for a trade conference.
All the nine members of the committee were to attend the conference but the four flew straight from the Netherlands — where they had been for close to a week — to Berlin.
However, the meeting was called off soon after they arrived in Berlin. They booked a high-end hotel for one week, the period they were supposed to be there.
They are Senators Charles Kibiru (Kirinyaga, who chairs the committee), Christopher Langat (Bomet), Mwangi Githiomi (Nyandarua) and a clerk. The fourth senator's identity has not been confirmed.
Speaker Kenneth Lusaka confirmed that the lawmakers had travelled on an official trip. He said the members were making arrangements to fly back after the event was cancelled for fear of the disease.
“Indeed, they are in Germany but they are not stuck or stranded as they are making their own arrangements to come back home, maybe tomorrow or the day after. Some of these procedures are complicated, ” he said.
Sources revealed the senators requested a refund from the hotel after the conference was called off to facilitate their return but the management declined.
It was also reported that Parliament had already advanced facilitation fees to the members before their departure to Germany, an amount they had already spent.
According to a 2020 circular by the Parliamentary Service Commission on per diem remuneration, House speakers, senators, MPs and clerks are entitled to Sh93,547 daily on European trips.
This means all the nine members were supposed to pocket Sh5.9 million for the seven days they were supposed to stay in Berlin.
The senators' problems have been complicated by the limited number of flights to Nairobi owing to fears of coronavirus.
Germany is among the European nations that have been hit by the disease that has killed more than 3,000 people and infected at least 90,000 others across the globe.
Contacted for comment, one senator confirmed being holed up in Berlin and said they were finding alternative routes to Kenya.
Meantime, the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women has been cancelled because of the virus. It was to be held from March 9 to 20 in New York.
At least five senators and 10 MPs had already been facilitated by Parliament to attend high-end meetings. They have since been asked to refund the cash.
“We must take into account the advice from the World Health Organization with regard to the global coronavirus situation, including the transmission dynamics in various locations; likely spread; reliance on physical measures for prevention and the number of people from across the globe expected to participate in official meetings,” Mher Margaryan said.
He chairs the Commission on the Status of Women and is the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations in Nw YOrk.
Margaryan continued, “Given the manner the situation surrounding COVID-19 is rapidly developing, including the increasing number of travel restrictions, and mindful of the need to balance essential activities with the protection of public health ...
“I recommend member states shorten and scale down the session. I would strongly recommend that capital-based representatives refrain from travelling to headquarters for the session. In the same vein, it would be prudent for the secretariat and member states to cancel all side events."
Edited by R.Wamochie